


My Life In Your Hands

by purplemonster



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: M/M, Master/Slave, past mentions of death, small mentions of past abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-17
Updated: 2015-12-17
Packaged: 2018-05-07 04:46:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 24,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5443808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplemonster/pseuds/purplemonster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erwin never liked it when the slaves called him master. But for some reason, hearing it from Levi that night stirred a strange kind of feeling within him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	My Life In Your Hands

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize for any typos and grammatical errors. This was never beta-ed.

“Hange, no” is always Erwin’s immediate reply to the gifts his friend gives him. It’s impolite. Erwin knows that, and being a lord has taught him how to be extremely careful when it comes to accepting the gifts he’s given. He wouldn’t want to offend anyone. But for Hange, he wouldn’t have to say no so much if they would just gift him properly. They know he likes books the most. But Hange never liked gifting him with such simple things. It was always the strange or extravagant ones.

Recently, it's the latter. And by extravagant ones, Hange meant slaves. Pleasure slaves.

“They’re very good at what they do,” Hange said to him the first time they gifted him with one. “You won’t have to worry about anything else.”

Pleasure slaves are considered a luxury. To be in possession with one is a mark of a very wealthy lord or lady. They’re known for pleasing their masters in the bedroom well, a thing they were meticulously trained to do. It’s also a mark of how responsible a lord is. To be able to balance work and entertaining a slave on the side is something considered a remarkable feat. Erwin has always been presented with proposals to have one but Hange was the only one bold enough to actually gift him with one without even proposing it to him first.

The first slave Hange gave him had been on his twenty-fifth birthday. He had just retreated into his own room after sending the guests home when he stopped in his doorway to the sight of a woman on the floor beside his bed dressed in light beautiful robes and sitting daintily on the back of her heels. She had her hands on her lap, head lowered with her long auburn hair falling to the sides of her face. Erwin asked who she was and what she was doing in his room but when she raised her head up to reply, the sight of the collar around her neck answered everything.

Erwin had to return her to Hange the next morning. He hadn’t used the slave that night but gave her a proper room to rest and had her join him for breakfast before Hange came to pick her up with a pout.

“You’re no fun,” Hange said. “She’s gorgeous.”

“Yes,” Erwin replied. “But I don’t need one.”

Hange just shrugged and hadn’t said a word about it anymore as they took the slave in their carriage and rode off.

Hange had been gifting him with a pleasure slave for all of his birthdays after that.

There was the lovely girl with dark brown hair and skin as white as snow for his twenty-sixth birthday, the handsome man who was lean and tall as Erwin was on his twenty-seventh, and the woman with luscious curves and with such beautiful ebony skin for his twenty-eighth. It was all kinds of pleasure slaves for each year that Erwin no longer looked surprised whenever he opened the door to his room on the night of his name day. And Hange never gave up even when Erwin returned all of them the following morning untouched.

“Next year,” Hange said when they helped his thirty-fourth gift back into the carriage. “Next year you’ll definitely love what I’m getting you.”

But of course, Erwin paid it no mind. He was used to returning his friend’s gifts every single time now.

He didn’t know his thirty-fifth birthday would be different. Erwin had foregone the celebrations. He never liked celebrating his name day anyway and the past years were all a formality. He thought being in his mid-thirties would be a decent age to stop celebrating it. But his friends didn’t seem to think so and took it upon themselves to surprise him.

Erwin enjoyed it. It wasn’t the same birthday parties he had where all of his guests were lords and ladies he dealt with formally for business purposes. It was not a party where everyone came dressed fashionably from head to toe and the night was filled with dancing. Instead it was filled with just three of his close friends. Nanaba brought food, Mike brought liquor and Hange brought the usual laughter. Erwin had never enjoyed his name day in a long while and he was ready to forgive Hange for all those outrageous gifts they gave him for the past years when they mentioned there was a gift waiting for him in his room again.

“Hange, no.” Erwin sighed. Mike and Nanaba knew of Hange’s gifts and they hid their obvious laughter behind their glasses when Erwin declined as usual.

“Just check it out,” Hange says with a grin. “It’s a different gift this time.”

This piqued Erwin’s curiosity and when he bid all of them a goodnight, he heads straight to his room. Maybe Hange had finally gotten him something else, like a book for a change.

But as usual, when Erwin opened the door to his bedroom, he only finds a slave.

Only that he doesn’t look like one.

The man on the ground sitting on the back of his heels didn’t have the usual presence a pleasure slave has when they’re in the room. The man looked bored, head held up rather than the usual lowered stance and he doesn’t have the same kind of beauty that the past slaves had. He has a sharp face and his mouth is pressed into a tight line the longer Erwin studied him, as if he wasn’t used to being scrutinized for so long. He’s dressed in a simple yet pretty loose white robe that billowed near his feet. His raven black hair is shaved at the back but has his fringe almost near his eyes. He also looks rather small that Erwin wondered if he was old enough to be legally a slave.

He’s not wearing any collar, an important ornament a slave always wears. This has Erwin wonder even more whether this man is a pleasure slave or not.

“You are… ?” Erwin could only ask, voice unsure, when the man gave a small tsk.

“A gift, _they_ said.”

His voice is deep and light and condescending at the same time. This is also the first time Erwin has heard a slave use a tone like that when talking about a high born. Hange did not consider themselves a lord nor lady. But they have their own status in the society and Hange was close enough to being a high born.

“Well, go ahead,” The slave said. “Tell me what you want done tonight.”

Erwin doesn’t want anything. He never has, especially not from a pleasure slave.

“Tell me your name,” Erwin says. The man looks at him for a moment as if to judge his request.

“Levi,” He drawls in the same light and deep tone but Erwin notes the lack of arrogance in it now.

“Levi,” Erwin says as he opens the door. “You may take your leave.”

Levi blinks at him and for a moment, Erwin sees a flash of confusion flit through his face. It’s obvious the slave hadn’t expected this. Gone is the slight scowl but something like curiosity replaces it. Or wariness. Erwin can’t tell.

“There is a room down the hall. You are to use it tonight until I contact Hange tomorrow to have you returned.”

Levi seems to be weighing his words until he finally stands. He’s short and light on his feet. There’s something graceful about him that Erwin is surprised to see as he walks.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Levi,” Erwin says, his tone indicating that he is dismissed for the night. Levi gives a small nod of his head.

“Happy Birthday, master.” Levi greets before he leaves. Erwin watches him walk towards the end of the hall, his movements light like him. He’s slender and small that his robes slip past his shoulders and Erwin makes a mental note to tell the helpers in the morning to cook a hearty breakfast for him before he returns him to Hange.

Erwin never liked it when the slaves called him master. But for some reason, hearing it from Levi that night stirred a strange kind of feeling within him.

 

* * *

It turns out Erwin can’t return Levi even if he wanted to.

The shop that Hange purchased him from had a no return policy for six months. Hange had purchased Levi specially for Erwin in one of the novelty shops that catered to the more adventurous client and they were known to be the best that it was not advisable to return the slave unless tried out for six months. Erwin had never shown his interest in a type of slave so he doesn’t know where Hange got the idea from that he’d want a certain kind.

“You haven’t even tried him out yet,” Hange said to him the next morning when they dropped by to see how he was doing with their gift.

“I don’t have time for him,” Erwin explains, not even bothering to hide the frustration in his tone. He has a business to run and he does not have the time for any sort of _pleasure_. Erwin is in charge of running the old family business that caters to the security of all the lords and ladies. He trains men and women who serve as guards for the different houses and their families. His grandfather started it and passed it on to his father. But unfortunately, Erwin’s father passed away when he was at a young age. Erwin has been handling things ever since, while he has his mother retire to the countryside. It wasn’t a business Erwin wanted to handle from the start but he had his duties as the only son. Besides, he’s learned to treasure the business for its lifelong legacy in protecting people.

Aside from the lack of time, having a slave doesn’t really fit Erwin’s lifestyle.

“I’ve given you ten pleasure slaves through the years,” Hange starts.

“And what makes you think I’ll try this one out now?”

“He’s an interesting slave.”

“How long have you even known this person enough to think he’s interesting?” Erwin asks, although he knows how true that is. He’s only met Levi last night and spoken a few words to him but Levi has made Erwin so _curious_. He spent the whole night thinking about the slave. The way he moved, the way he spoke. Everything about him was interesting.

“Okay, look,” Hange comes up to him, pushing their glasses up their nose. “Think of him as a way to help you with things around here.”

Erwin listens patiently as his friend goes on.

“I know you’ve been having a hard time reeling in more clients. The traditional lords and ladies won’t like the service you’re giving them if you’re not acting like a _true_ lord yourself. And you know how a true lord acts: showing up in public with a slave by his side.”

Erwin gets what Hange is saying. They aren't only his friend. Hange is his legal advisor. They helped him run the business ever since he took over. Image is everything in this society and if Erwin wants to keep his family’s business going, he has to conform to society’s standards even if he doesn’t want to.

“You don’t have to bed him. Well, not unless you want to,” Hange says with a glint in their eyes.

Erwin has to usher Hange out of his private office before he completely loses it. He has a lot of things to do today and being occupied with a slave is not on his agenda.

Six months.

He only has to keep him for six months and then he’ll take him back.

 

* * *

Erwin does not see Levi in the next few weeks.

Dispatching guards for different families around the city is what takes Erwin’s time the most. He has to be the one who picks out the finest men from his training grounds and assign them to the different estates. It wouldn’t take so much of his time if the lords and ladies don’t ask him to stay and share a cup of tea with him before he leaves. Erwin can never decline the offers. It was not considered appropriate to say no.

He leaves in the morning and arrives at night. On the days that he doesn’t have to leave his estate, he’s swamped with paperwork and overseeing recruits. He used to be in charge of training them as well. But Erwin has Mike and Nanaba for that now and they take the load off of Erwin’s shoulders so he can concentrate on the managerial tasks better.

He’s never seen Levi around the house. He has the servants tend to him. He gave them instructions to see to his every need the morning after he arrived. He gave him access to the library and recreation room. He also gave him a change of clothes to wear everyday. He knows the closet in the guest room where Levi stays is filled with robes for a pleasure slave. He’s had that supplied over the years from when Hange gave him all those gifts. He wanted to treat the slaves as guests rather than what they really are, so he made sure to keep a change of robes for them during their overnight stay.

It comes to a point where Erwin is so busy that he has forgotten Levi. With work piled up and his visits out of the estate more frequent, Erwin forgot that a slave existed in his own home. It wasn’t until one of his servants had asked if the slave was allowed outside the garden that Erwin had to put down his documents and ask who she was talking about.

“Your slave, my lord. Your pleasure slave.”

Erwin feels his cheeks turn red at that. Levi was not his pleasure slave. But his servant was right. He is his. He’s Erwin’s responsibility for the next few months. Erwin tells the servant to let him out whenever he wishes and that he’ll visit him this afternoon.

Levi is already out in the garden when Erwin visits him later that day. He’s wearing a dark blue silk robe and with thin sandals on his feet. He’s sitting on one of the benches overlooking the field where his men are training. His head is tipped up towards the sky instead of watching the recruits. He looks like he’s deep in thought. The breeze blowing about them is cool that Erwin is worried for a moment whether the slave was dressed properly for this weather. But Levi turns to him when he hears him approaching that Erwin’s head is occupied now by the slave’s features.

Levi isn’t handsome nor is he beautiful like the pleasure slaves Erwin is used to seeing on the night of his birthdays. But Levi is attractive. He has sharp features where most of the slaves he’s seen had softer ones. Erwin wonders just what kind of shop he came from and if the rest of the pleasure slaves being sold have the same unique kind of attractiveness Levi holds.

Levi stands when he approaches. Erwin motions for him to sit back down but Levi doesn’t. Not until Erwin does so first.

“I apologize for not coming to visit you in a long while,” Erwin starts. “I was busy.”

“I’ve heard,” Levi replies. “I didn’t know my master would be this pre-occupied with his affairs.”

Master. The word has Erwin cringe.

“Please, call me Erwin.”

Levi looks at him like this is a trick.

“I am not your master. You are not my slave. You are my guest.” Erwin explains.

“A guest who is not allowed to leave the house?” Levi asks, cocking his head to the side. He sounds like he’s teasing him. But Erwin can’t be sure.

“I apologize for that. I have given my servants orders to see to your needs inside my house. I left out the part that you were allowed to use the grounds as well.”

Levi looks at him a tad longer before turning his head away from him.

“Are you doing well?” Erwin asks. “Would you like to… leave?”

Levi smirks at that. “A pleasure slave out and about in town?”

Erwin forgot how dangerous that sounded. A pleasure slave is valuable and to set them out into town would mean merchants from the black market hounding them. Erwin wouldn’t want any harm to come to him. He wouldn’t want to be held responsible for a missing slave.

“I’d send guards with you of course.”

There’s a small pause. Erwin watches the fallen leaves swirl about in the ground from the breeze while he waits for his reply.

“I’d rather stay here,” Levi speaks up. “You have a very nice place.”

“Thank you. You can stay here for as long as you like.”

Levi looks at him again. “Really, now. You’re not going to return me?”

Levi doesn’t talk like a slave. In fact, it’s rather a mixture of both slave and commoner. It’s like he’s not sure of his place in society. Erwin does not mind this one bit but this makes him all the more curious about him again.

Erwin chooses not to answer him. Instead, he stands up to take his leave.

“You’re welcome to use the grounds any time you wish. Please let my servants know if there is anything else you need.”

Erwin leaves Levi on the bench, but he’s not far enough to miss his soft reply of, “Yes, master.”

 

* * *

 

Levi is everywhere now that Erwin remembered him again. He is everywhere and nowhere that Erwin is sometimes distracted wondering what he’s doing.

When Erwin comes home at night, he finds the lights in Levi’s room still lit. When he leaves in the morning he finds the door to Levi’s room open and the servants notifying him he has already eaten. When he sits in his study, he sees him outside the windows lounging on the grass beside the pond. When he heads to his private office, he sees the library doors open and only a pair of pale legs can be seen sprawled out on the ground. Erwin can only assume it’s Levi since none of his servants wear such light robes and sit on the floor with their legs to the side exposed.

He’d see him around the house but it’s as if Levi is just flitting in and out of rooms. Erwin is reminded of a cat going about his large estate. Sometimes he’d be there visible for him to see. Sometimes he wouldn’t. But Erwin knows he’s somewhere out there.

Their paths don’t cross as well. Erwin sometimes hoped it would just so he can casually ask how he’s doing. Levi doesn’t look like he hates it here nor does he look like he loves it. Erwin doesn’t know what to do with him. He’s talked to Mike about the spot he’s in. But Mike hadn’t said anything that would help his cause.

“Just try him out” was the only thing he said and Erwin thinks that Hange has gotten to him as well.

It’s not like Erwin despises slaves. He just doesn’t want to use them for his personal gain. Businesses thrive when a lord or lady proves to his clients just how serious and responsible he is and Erwin doesn’t want to be judged by the usual standards. He’s already proven his capabilities years ago. But it is true that having a pleasure slave by his side is very important.

He also doesn’t want to bed someone who runs on trained instinct. Bedding a pleasure slave meant everything would be according to the rules. To please the master. To sigh when they’re being touched. To mewl and preen at their master’s ministrations. To come only when they’re asked to. To say the things they were trained to do. It does not sound pleasurable to him at all and to the slave even if he knows they’ve chosen this kind of life willingly.

It’s the only thing stopping Erwin from keeping one around, and the only thing stopping him from ever trying out Levi for himself.

 

* * *

 

Erwin has days where everything drains the life out of him. There’s trying to get clients to invest in him, the clients who are interested but are making it hard to set up a bargain with him or just the usual stubborn recruits that are not used to the training and causes some difficulties in the grounds. These are the days where Erwin is involved in every single one of them and by the end of the day, he has a throbbing headache and a foul yet quiet temper.

His servants know how to read the mood around him. So when he comes home with a hard look on his face and his shoulders so stiff, his servants only prepare a hot bath for him and serve him tea. They don’t serve him dinner knowing that Erwin doesn’t have the appetite for anything, and for the rest of the evening, they leave him alone.

Erwin strips off the heavy garments that adorn him whenever he goes out and he steps in the bath prepared for him. He stays there with the soothing oils and the calming fragrance of his bath until he’s no longer carrying anything on his shoulders. He could fall asleep in the tub. But that would only bring him sore muscles in the morning and an annoying crick in his neck. He’d rather sleep in his bed tonight.

He dries himself off when he’s done. He slips on a pair of his sleeping garments, just the pants on, as he walks to his room. There he comes across Levi walking back to his own sleeping quarters. The slave stops when he notices him, although his eyes are on the ground. He only looks up after a pause, eyes traveling upwards to rest on his bare middle, then on his face.

“Good evening, master,” He says quietly. Erwin would tell him to call him by his name rather than that nonsense but he’s too tired that he just nods at him and continues on his way.

“Master,” Levi says so silently as he passes by that Erwin wondered whether he was just hearing things. He turns to look at the slave in confirmation when he sees him staring back at his face intently.

“You’ve had a hard day. It would please me to give you a massage.”

Erwin could say no. All he needs is sleep. But after that relaxing hot bath, a massage sounded very tempting.

Erwin only nods his head before turning back again to his room. Behind him, Levi follows quietly, his footsteps silent as a cat. He lets Levi close the door behind him. Erwin climbs on his bed and lies on his stomach in the middle of it. He rests his head on his arms, his face turned to the side to watch Levi.

Levi lifts his robes as he climbs on the bed. Erwin catches sight of pale supple thighs. He feels the bed dip beside him then as the slave joins his space.

“There’s oil on the shelf.” Erwin offers.

Levi gets to work, pressing down on Erwin’s back as he massages him. Levi is a good masseur. No doubt it came from one of his trainings. He’s reminded of Levi being specially ordered for him and he wonders if Hange foresaw that he’d need this kind of treatment.

Levi has small hands. Erwin has seen them and he always thought he was delicate. But the pressure he puts on his hands as he kneads his back is clear enough that he has a unique kind of strength. He wears such light robes that Erwin sees that although he has a small figure, he’s still well built. His arms and thighs are toned and he can only assume he works out during his own time.

He relaxes and closes his eyes as he feels Levi’s hands massage a sore spot on his neck and his shoulders. He’s so pliant that he barely registers Levi gently clambering on his back and sitting down on his backside. The added weight isn’t much but Erwin loves the feel of it. He especially likes the way Levi’s thighs frame his hips, a strange thing to be thinking about but something he waves off due to his drowsiness.

He eventually falls asleep to the slave’s touches. And when he comes to in the middle of the night, he finds that his covers are now up to his back and his candle put out.

He’s alone in the dark, muscles and joints well relaxed and the slave gone from his room.

 

* * *

 

Erwin doesn’t see Levi the next morning so he never got around to thanking him for the relaxing massage. He wasn’t in his room when Erwin visited so he presumed he was out somewhere outside the house. Whatever he did that night was amazing. His muscles didn’t seem too sore and his headache was gone. His mood was better as well that even the slightest mishaps that work gave him throughout the day didn’t bother him at all.

He doesn’t see him the day after that and the days that came afterwards.

Erwin is back to his usual routine, heading off to the different estates to see to their security. He’s gone for most days, even going so far as to spend nights on the road just so he can finish all his visits by the end of the week. But even if he’s busy, his thoughts go out to the slave at home wondering what he’s doing right at this very moment.

By the end of the week, Erwin is ready to head home. He’s managed to sell his services to four large families and convinced two more lords to invest. This isn’t such a surprising thing for him to acquire but considering how his business is slow lately, Erwin is more than thankful for it.

On the way back, a pastry shop catches his eye. The store is about to close up seeing as it’s the last hours of the evening. Erwin makes a motion to his coachman to stop so he can take a look.

He’s never given Levi any gifts. It’s not as if he’s inclined to do so when he’s to return him when the time for the return policy is up. But he’d like to thank him for that night. He tells the baker what he thinks the slave will like, pointing to the ones that are covered in chocolate. He adds in a bit of strawberry puff pastries he saw by the counter and has them wrapped in a small box to go.

Levi is already asleep when he arrives, though his candle is still lit. Erwin knocked on his door lightly and pokes his head in when he doesn’t answer. The bed is not at all huge but it seems to swallow Levi whole from where he’s sleeping. He has on a light tunic, the front in a low V that exposes his chest. There’s an open book by his side that Erwin presumes he was reading. Erwin has to cover him up with a blanket so he doesn’t catch a cold and he places the box filled with pastries on his bedside table so he can easily spot it in the morning.

Erwin stops to take a look at him before he leaves. His arm stretches out and a strange need to brush his hair away from his eyes fills him. Erwin stands there with his fingers just mere inches away from the slave’s sleeping face. Levi looks like he’s deep in sleep that he wouldn’t notice if Erwin touched him.

But in the end, he doesn’t. Erwin curls his fingers into a fist and then drops his arm to his side. He allows himself one last look at Levi and blows his candle out before he finally leaves.

 

* * *

 

Erwin rarely has client complaints. Most of the lords and ladies are satisfied with the security he’s given them. But there are some who complain about his services making it difficult for Erwin to handle. His father and his grandfather taught him the ways of the family business and to be polite and respectful in dealing with clients no matter how hard headed they can be. But sometimes, it can be too taxing. Especially when he’s facing charges for something that wasn’t his men’s fault.

Apparently, a lord’s son snuck out of their estate. Some of the guards managed to catch him climbing over the high walls and chased after him. But the lord’s son fell over and is now in bed nursing a broken arm. The lord was furious over the lack of security and instead of blaming his brat of a son, he blamed Erwin’s men.

A thing like this could be easily solved. Erwin would apologize, even though it wasn’t his fault. Most of the times the issue would be dropped. But this lord is a prideful man and is pressing charges. It has Erwin come home in such a foul mood that not even a hot bath drawn up for him can soothe his temper.

Business isn’t already doing too well and if word of this gets out, Erwin would suffer a lot. Although it’s well into the night and there’s nothing he can do about it but wait for the next morning to draw up his own defense on the matter, Erwin still isn’t able to stop thinking about it.

He’s sitting on the edge of his bed, clad in his sleeping pants with his hands on his face, when a soft knock sounds on his door. He’s ready to call off whoever it is to bother him in the morning when it’s Levi’s voice he hears.

“Come in,” Erwin says and the door slowly opens revealing the slave in the doorway wearing a black robe. He looks even more pale when he’s wearing such a color and under the dim light of his room. He isn’t wearing any sandals but is standing there on his barefeet that Erwin frowns.

“The floor is cold,” Erwin starts. “Why aren’t you wearing anything?”

“So it would be quiet. I was not sure whether you were awake or asleep. If you were, I didn’t want to wake you up,” Levi explains, his voice so soft tonight. “But there was still light underneath your door so I knocked.”

Erwin looks at him. “And what is it that you want?”

Levi doesn’t lower his head like a meek little slave that Erwin is used to dealing with. Instead, he looks at Erwin full in the face.

“You’ve had another rough day.”

Erwin’s jaw tightens when he thinks of the amount of work he has to do tomorrow and in the next coming days to salvage the name of his business.

“I don’t need a massage.” Erwin replies, brushing him off.

“I wasn’t going to give you one, master.”

Erwin watches as Levi approaches him and stops in front of him. He doesn’t tell the slave to return to his room nor does he ask him why he’s here then. Erwin just sits there, observing him.

“Let me take care of you,” Levi says. Erwin doesn’t like the way he said it. It sounded rehearsed. Like a script one has been practiced to say.

Nevertheless, Erwin lets him. He’s in need of a distraction for tonight that he sits there, wondering what the slave had in mind. Levi, taking his silence as a form of allowing him to proceed, gracefully sinks to his knees and reaches for the waistband of his pants.

Erwin stiffens just for a moment. This was not what he had in mind. He didn’t really had anything in mind as to what Levi meant by “taking care of him”. It only dawned on him what Levi exactly wanted to do to him seeing as this was what he was sent here for.

He shouldn’t encourage this. But Erwin doesn’t stop him either. He sits there, Levi kneeling on the ground and in between his legs as the waistband of his pants are pulled down. Erwin can feel the hairs on his skin prickle when air hits his nether region, and his breath stops in his chest when Levi wraps his hand around his cock.

Levi looks up at him once more, probably checking to see if he should go any further. Erwin doesn’t say anything to him. He only studies him back, looking at his eyes and trying to decipher what could possibly be going on in his head. But Levi isn’t so easy to read. Erwin has had practice in reading people. It irks him to know that Levi isn’t an open book yet it also fascinates him how he isn’t one.

Levi holds Erwin’s limp cock and leans forward to lick along his length. Erwin tries not to flinch or jolt back from the sensation. Levi’s tongue is warm while his hands are cold. It’s a mixture of such a strange yet pleasant sensation that has Erwin’s grip on the edges of his bed tighten as he looks at Levi from above.

Levi moves his head, licking him up. His grip on the base of his cock along with his tongue has heat starting to build up in his groin. Erwin tries not to tense up too much. But everytime Levi’s tongue laps at the head, Erwin feels his stomach swoop and it takes every ounce of his strength not to lurch from his seat.

Erwin breathes out through his mouth when Levi finally takes him. He watches as Levi’s lips wrap around his length, his head dipping down to slide halfway then back up again. He has both his hands, resting on his thigh, supporting himself as he does this. Erwin notes how erect he’s gotten when his cock slips out from the slave’s lips and Levi doesn’t have to wrap his hand around him just to ease it back in.

He’s skilled. Erwin hasn’t had many take him like this but he recalls the times when he’s had someone suck him and it was never like the way it’s being done tonight. Levi uses his mouth like he’s done this a lot and a flash of possessiveness hits him making him reach out to slip his fingers through Levi’s hair and tugging to tip his face up to him.

A soft low moan escapes him and it echoes throughout the entire room as Levi looks at him with half lidded eyes. His lips are pink and glistening with saliva. It’s such a pretty sight that Erwin doesn’t know how long he stared. Levi’s lips brush lightly against the side of his erection as if to let him know he’s not finished and Erwin lets him go on, his cock twitching when Levi dips his tongue at the slit before taking him whole.

Erwin’s breathing starts getting jagged. He knows he won’t last long and Levi’s mouth is quickly bringing him over the edge. He’s too wound up, his stomach churning in anticipation. His thighs are all tense and he’s having a hard time planting his feet firmly on the ground. Levi only has to suck over the crown, hand working over his length with just the right amount of pressure and Erwin is spilling himself with a sharp restricted gasp. Levi swallows it all even when Erwin tries to tug his face away. When he’s done, Levi sits back in his heels and slowly looks up at him.

Erwin doesn’t realize he’s breathing heavily, chest heaving as he tries to calm down. He feels his cheeks burn, not from embarrassment but just from the release, the flush probably spreading to his chest. He still has his fingers in Levi’s hair and he runs his hand over, feeling the soft strands in between his fingers.

Levi looks dazed. There’s sweat dotting his brow and he’s breathing subtly through his mouth. Erwin lets his hand travel down his cheek and cup his face. Levi looks so small in his hand. Erwin stares at his slicked lips and brushes a thumb over it, relishing at how that feels in his touch.

Erwin then slowly lowers his gaze in between the slave’s legs but Levi stands then and dips his head before he can see anything else.

“If there isn’t anything else you need…” Levi turns around, his robes swishing behind him.

Erwin does not stop him. His arm had itched to reach out for him just like that night he saw him sleeping and wanted to brush the hair out of his eyes. But once again, it’s as if he couldn’t do anything more.

“You’re tired,” Levi says with his back to him. “You should get some sleep.”

Levi does not wait for his reply. He only heads for the door, closing it silently and leaving Erwin sated and a little stunned at what just happened.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Erwin has Levi summoned to his study. It’s early and he’s aware that the slave might still be sleeping. But he’s about to leave for work and he just can’t let last night’s events be ignored until he gets back. The rest of the week is going to be extremely busy for him and he’d like to speak to Levi before he drowns in his work.

Levi arrives and Erwin is surprised to see him look fully awake. He’s in a set of different robes and looks fresh that Erwin wonders for a moment just how early he starts the day before he realizes that there are more important matters at hand.

“Last night,” He starts, not even wanting to waste any time with this. “What you did-”

“Did it make you sleep better?” Levi asks, interrupting him as he stands in front of his desk.

Erwin is taken aback by this. But he answers honestly. “Yes. It did.”

“I’m glad then. You looked too troubled to fall asleep easily.”

Erwin looks at the slave’s face, trying to see if he’s teasing him. But Levi’s stoic expression isn’t giving Erwin room to make anything out of it.

“I…” Erwin has no idea if a thank you would suffice. He wasn’t exactly thrilled to have taken advantage of that night. But then again, it didn’t feel like he had taken advantage of Levi either. It confused him.

“Thank you.” Erwin still ends up saying. “For what you did. But you do know you didn’t have to.”

Levi raises an eye at him.

“There will be nights that I will come home looking troubled. You’re not inclined to deal with them by means of what you did to me.” Erwin explains.

Levi looks a little amused at that.

“Master, you do know the workings of a pleasure slave, do you?”

Erwin does. He knows full well what they do.

“Yes. But you are not my slave-”

“I am your guest.” Levi finishes for him with a smirk.

“You are.” Erwin frowns.

“Whatever you say. It does not change who I am.”

 _And who are you,_ Erwin wants to ask. Levi doesn’t sleem like a slave even when he says he is. He doesn’t have a collar around his neck nor does he speak like one. He doesn’t act like a slave either even when he calls him master.

But Erwin does not ask him this. His servant arrives to tell him his carriage is ready and he has no choice but to save the conversation away for another time.

 

* * *

 

It’s one thing to listen to complaints and another to just sit there and take all kinds of bullshit.

Erwin is sitting at the lord’s parlor and pretending to listen to all his rants. He’s picked up words of _incompetent_ and _inadequate_ and Erwin does not know how much longer he can take any more of this. He’s always been a patient man. But this is too much. He’s traveled all the way to the lord’s estate to deal with this mess the lord’s son created. But now it’s like he wasted his time. This lord isn’t going to budge and Erwin should’ve just sent a messenger and have them deliver all their complaints in writing.

The only thing that’s making all this better is that he isn’t alone. Mike is with him as well as Hange. It was necessary they were there because both are involved in the business. But now Erwin is thankful more than ever that his closest friends are with him.

The negotiations finally end after a few hours although Erwin thinks those weren’t proper negotiations. It was all to the benefit of the lord and Erwin had neither accepted nor declined the agreement. He reasoned out that he had to discuss this further with his legal adviser in private to which the lord just scoffed but said he’d wait.

“This can be resolved easily,” Hange says when the three of them are finally inside the privacy of Erwin’s carriage and on their way back. Mike hasn’t spoken a word but it’s obvious he didn’t like the negotiations either.

“I am not going to pay a huge amount of money for his son’s recklessness,” Erwin replies firmly. Ignorant people frustrate him to no end.

“You don’t have to pay him,” Hange says, sitting back and crossing their legs. Erwin wonders how his friend can be so at ease after all that talk.

“Just do what you do best,” Hange continues, taking off their glasses and cleaning it with the hem of their coat. “Wine and dine him, Erwin. You’re very good at those.”

Erwin looks out the window. He’s exhausted and the thought of having to put up a face at that lord all over again makes him feel weary. But Hange is right. He’s good at chatting these people up.

“You were invited to Lady Dok’s party. All the fancy lords and ladies will be there. Him included.” Mike speaks up for the first time since they left the estate.

“Alright,” Erwin agrees. “I’d like to get this over with.”

“Ah, but you know what would make things easier.” Hange leans forward and places on their glasses.

Erwin looks away from the window and shifts his attention back at them. “How?”

“If you'd bring Levi with you, of course.”

* * *

 

Erwin arrives home after two days out in the road. He’s grateful that he doesn’t have any meetings to attend to for now and he hurries up to his room to bathe and eat and then finally sleep.

Levi greets him at the foot of the stairs. Erwin hasn’t seen him in two days and the sight of him in his home stirs a strange kind of longing within him. Levi has been under his care for more than a month now and oddly enough, it hasn’t troubled him as much as it did when he arrived. Lately, Levi has been that gentle reminder that there’s something else in his life that doesn’t revolve around work. He’s had messengers update him while he was on the road and some of those letters had Levi included in them. How he’s made himself useful by cleaning up the estate while he was away. The servants had asked Erwin if they should tell him he isn’t supposed to be cleaning. Pleasure slaves were such luxury items that the only hard work they were allowed to do was in the bedroom. They weren’t allowed to work themselves out or get themselves dirty. But Erwin had chuckled at this and sent back a message to allow Levi to do whatever he wants.

“Welcome home, master,” Levi murmurs. He’s wearing the loose tunic Erwin saw him in when he was asleep. It fits nicely on him.

“I’ve heard from my servants that you’ve been keeping yourself busy,” Erwin starts as he takes off his coat.

“Yes. Your house wasn’t that spotless as I thought it would be.”

Erwin is amused by that and hides his chuckle by clearing his throat.

“Join me for supper later tonight.”

Levi only nods and Erwin heads up to his room to change.

There’s silence in the dinner table. Erwin is too tired to entertain his guest, a thing he usually does whenever he has someone over and he’s glad Levi doesn’t seem to mind. The silence isn’t awkward at all. It’s quite comfortable and it gives him some time to think of the upcoming party.

Erwin understood just what Hange meant by Levi making things easier for him if he brought him along. But Erwin is still uncomfortable with the idea. He refuses to use Levi as a thing by his arm so he can garner approval from society. But he does need him that night.

Erwin has his servants serve them tea after dinner. He offers a cup to Levi who seems to like it after taking a sip.

“Levi,” Erwin speaks up over the silence. “I have a dinner party to attend to tomorrow night. Would you like to join me?”

Levi stares at him, brow knitted in confusion. “You know you don’t have to ask. You just tell me what you want done and I’ll do it.”

Erwin’s grip on his teacup tightens.

“I’m still asking you.”

Levi holds his gaze. A part of Erwin wants Levi to say no so he doesn’t have to go through with this. He can find other means to win the lord over. It doesn’t have to be with a slave by his side.

“Fine.” Levi answers finally.

He’s not sure whether to be pleased by this or not. Nevertheless, Erwin thanks him and they both sit there quietly, enjoying the rest of their tea.

 

* * *

 

The Dok’s estate is a large property so Erwin guesses the amount of people tonight would be plenty. Erwin has been here before. He had dealt with the Dok’s security and knew every corner of the house. For tonight’s event, Lord Nile has requested a tighter security since it will be filled with guests and their slaves. Erwin looks at the front doors with a heavy heart, already feeling the exhaustion of having to face all the lords and ladies. His only wish is to impress them easily tonight and hopes he can get home early.

Behind him, Levi steps out of the carriage. He’s dressed in a black formal satin robe with a gold thin belt wrapped loosely around his waist and sandals on his feet. It’s not a robe made especially for him since Erwin has the closet in his room already stocked. But the outfit suits him very well. Erwin didn’t even try to hide his surprised stare when he saw him heading down the stairs before they left.

Erwin doesn’t realize he’s looking at him again when Levi raises an eye at him.

“What?” He asks.

“You look very nice tonight.”

Levi looks away from him and mumbles a small thanks. Erwin feels the corners of his lips tug into a smile. Pleasure slaves are known to always be shy and humble in receiving compliments but Levi doesn’t look like he’s acting. He looks flustered, like he isn’t used to them.

The party looks lavishly prepared tonight. Not that it was surprising. All the parties he's been to were always like this. Ladies in heavy gowns and makeup while the lords in their suits and drinks in hand. Some have their pleasure slaves with them all dressed in such fine robes of silk with most of their skin exposed. Some of the slaves wore a leash proudly around their necks, the ends of it held by their masters. The others wore the usual collar and with their master’s arm around them.

As soon as they enter, all the lords and ladies turn their attention to him. Erwin is aware of his tall physique and how it’s nearly impossible not to miss him when he enters a room. He’s been taught to dress well and hold himself presentable during these kinds of occasions and even if Erwin just wants to go unnoticed, it’s always quite impossible to do so.

At first, all the lords and ladies stare at Erwin, nodding to him in greeting when their attention slowly moves to his right. Erwin pretends he doesn’t notice the way their eyes widen. He’s shown up with a slave by his side tonight and that, to them, was a big deal.

Erwin nods at a couple on his right and greets a few lords on his left. Lady Marie Dok approaches him when she spots him from across the room and Erwin bows and takes her gloved hand to plant a kiss on the back of her wrist.

Once upon a time, Lady Marie held Erwin’s interests. She was a beautiful woman with a kind smile. But Erwin had felt it was cruel to tie her down to him when all that concerned him was his work.

He never regretted it. Looking at Marie now, married life suited her.

“I’m so glad you could come, Erwin.” She said, placing a gentle hand on top of his. Like all the other lords and ladies, Marie’s gaze shift to his right. “Oh, and this is…?”

“Levi, this is Lady Marie Dok.” Erwin introduces. Levi gives a small bow at that.

Marie doesn’t say anything else to which Erwin is thankful for. She only gives Levi a smile, welcomes him into her home and leads them further inside. She leaves them when she sees other guests arrive but Erwin and Levi aren’t alone for long when other lords and ladies approach them.

Erwin is engaged in conversation after conversation and his replies and gestures are that of a trained businessman through the years. He makes sure to smile at the ladies who talk to him and laugh at all the lords' jokes. He’s perfect as always when it comes to facing these people that Erwin knows his grandfather and father are looking at him from wherever they are with proud eyes.

Naturally, the conversation leads to Levi. They ask about his slave. For some reason, a lot of them are curious about him. Erwin can understand why. Levi doesn’t look pleasing to the eyes like the usual slaves they’ve all seen. Rather, he looks fascinating, a thing Erwin finds himself drawn to as well.

Levi looks like he doesn't mind all their questions but he doesn’t answer them either. Erwin does. It’s not unusual for a slave to stay quiet and let their masters talk. He sticks to what he knows about him for now rather than lie. He tells them Levi is a gift and comes from a novelty shop. He tells them he loves to read and clean. When asked if he was good in bed, Erwin only gives a short teasing reply that's neither a yes or a no but one that has the lords and ladies gush curiously.

If there's one thing different about tonight, it's that Erwin has to carry himself and Levi in every conversation. He's used to dealing with these things by himself. But tonight, he makes sure Levi is entertained as well. He doesn't face a lord or lady when he's talking to them but angles his body so his stance includes Levi in the conversation as well.

The only problem he has that night was that he didn’t know how to act around him. Erwin wanted to mimic the way the other lords and ladies acted around their slaves. But he wasn't sure whether Levi would like being touched in public or display such kind of affection from him. He would never fondle Levi in front of everyone either like some lords would do to their slaves.

Somehow, Levi sensed this as the night went on because he took Erwin’s hand subtly and guided it around his waist. Erwin had been stiff about it at first but afterwards, Erwin would casually place a hand on both his shoulders while he’s talking and then later on in the night, his arm wound around him as if Levi had been his slave for a long while.

Erwin has been to many parties but tonight is particularly bright and glittery. Lady Marie has dolled up the place that even the chandeliers, the drinks, the silverware, all sparkle in Erwin’s eyes. Erwin stares at Levi when it gets too much. He stares at his hair, the color of his eyes, the bridge of his nose, the way the black satin of his robes move when he does. He stares at his lips and how Levi sometimes darts his tongue out to wet them. The slave was a nice sight to look at compared to everything that night.

After a while, it’s obvious enough that Levi looks uncomfortable and Erwin excuses them both to the side so he can offer Levi something to eat and drink.

“Are you alright?” Erwin asks, taking a glass of champagne from a server that passed by to hand it to Levi.

“It was just getting too crowded in there.” He replies quietly, declining the drink.

“We’ll leave before the night completely ends.”

Levi thanks him quietly. The corners of his lips are tugged down into a frown and Erwin is about to cup his face and rub the tension away and to ease his discomfort when someone familiar greets him from behind.

“Erwin Smith with a slave. Isn’t this such a surprise.”

Erwin turns to find the lord he was very eager to see tonight.

“Lord Reiss,” Erwin gives him a smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you here tonight.”

“Are we doing well with the negotiations we’ve set the last time we saw each other?” Reiss asks, not even easing into pleasantries first.

“My legal adviser is finishing up the last drafts of it.” Erwin plays along.

Reiss’s attention is then focused on Levi and Erwin holds his breath in anticipation. Reiss is a curious man and it helps Erwin know what interests this man to win him over so easily.

“Your slave. He’s very…”

“Beautiful, isn’t he?” Erwin finishes for him. From the corner of his eye he spots Levi raising an eye at him but Erwin doesn’t return his gaze. He’s studying Reiss who looks like he’s still trying to find the right words to describe Levi but eventually nods and agrees with Erwin.

Talking with Reiss was so much easier after that. Hange had been right about winning him over easily. Erwin gave out compliment after compliment, offering him wine and food whenever the servers passed by and laughed at every single one of his lame jokes. Erwin hated himself at that moment for stooping so low to this man. But he had no choice. Besides, the faster he dealt with this, the sooner he can finish his business with him.

Maybe it was because neither of them were talking about the matter at hand that Reiss fell easily to his charms. Erwin asked about his wife and his son, his estate, the number of horses he owned, the lands he continues to purchase and everything else Erwin had no cares about. It made Reiss feel important and Erwin was good at making people feel important.

By the end of the night, it was Reiss himself who exclaimed that he would drop all charges. Erwin felt like a huge weight was lifted off of his shoulders and it took a great amount of effort not to sigh out loud in relief. Reiss was smiling and laughing and inviting Erwin over the next week for drinks. He also requested to bring Levi with him. Erwin would’ve declined. Reiss was not someone he’d want to spend another minute with. But he did accept his invite in the end with a professional smile and handshake.

They don’t stick around after that. Erwin says his thanks to Lord and Lady Dok for inviting him over before he and Levi leave.

Erwin closes his eyes and sags in his seat once they’re inside the carriage. He unbuttons the top of his dress shirt so he can breathe easily. He closes the curtains on the windows and lets the sound of the horses galloping on the cobbled stones fill the silence. He was used to the stress of his social responsibilities but that night had been extremely tiresome.

“Do you usually do that?”

Erwin opens his eyes and turns his head to Levi sitting beside him, watching the view on his window that’s open by his side.

“Do what?” He asks him. Levi tears his gaze away from the window to look at him. He doesn’t look tired anymore but rather relieved that they’re making their way home.

“That. Flatter people that much.”

Tonight was probably the first time Levi saw him in front of so many. Erwin smiles at him before shifting his gaze at the blank wall of the carriage in front of him.

“No,” He answers. “But I need to do it.”

“Because of your work.” Levi says.

Erwin nods. “Because of work.”

A calm silence fills the entirety of the carriage then. Erwin lets the small wobble of the ride lull him to sleep when Levi speaks up.

“Do you like them?”

It takes another few seconds for Erwin to realize what Levi is asking him about. Does he like the lords and ladies he meets on a regular basis? Does he like dealing with them? Does he like their company and the way they show off their slaves and their money?

“They’re alright,” Erwin answers.

This has Levi scoff out loud.

“You’re too nice.”

Erwin chuckles and turns to him. It amuses him that Levi can see right through his lie.

“I have to be.”

There’s a gap in the windows where Erwin hasn’t closed the curtains properly. Moonlight spills through it, illuminating Levi’s face. Erwin finds Levi beautiful not in the same way he finds all the slaves handsome and beautiful. There’s a certain kind of beauty he holds. Levi is interesting and fascinating and that’s what makes him attractive in Erwin’s eyes.

He’s not aware he had leaned closer to him. But it had felt so natural to just dip his head down slowly. He finds Levi’s lips in the dim carriage. He didn’t know what propelled him to do it. But it’s not like he regretted it either.

Levi’s lips are not at all full but thin. They’re cold too. Erwin likes the feel of it. He feels Levi’s short intake of breath when their lips meet. Levi tastes like the mandarin he fed him earlier that night, sweet and tangy.

The kiss is quick. Just a simple press of the lips. There isn’t anything heated about it nor did it set off fireworks in the back of his head. It didn’t remind him of that night where Levi was on his knees, with those very same lips wrapped around his length until later on. It just felt so natural at that moment. It’s something Erwin knows he’ll remember for a long while. It was also enough to satiate Erwin’s curiosity as to how it would feel like to kiss him, a thought he didn’t even know he had been pondering for quite some time.

He doesn’t pull away completely afterwards. His face lingers near Levi’s. He can feel his nose in his cheek, can feel his body heat even if his lips had been cold, and he can tell Levi isn’t breathing.

“Are you being nice right now?” Levi asks, voice a soft whisper that Erwin almost didn’t hear him. It takes a moment for Erwin to let that register in his head. But in the end, he doesn’t give a proper answer.

They finally arrive home. The exhaustion weighs down on Erwin again but he doesn’t get to his room until he sees Levi to his.

“Thank you for coming with me tonight. You’ve helped me a lot.”

Levi dips his head in a small bow. “I’m glad to be of service.”

Erwin hadn’t wanted tonight to be something considered as _service_. But Erwin doesn’t say anything else. He just watches him turn to his room.

“Goodnight, Levi.” He says before he can close the door.

Levi stops in the doorway and with his back to him says in reply, “Goodnight, master.”

 

* * *

 

Traveling to different estates usually takes up Erwin’s schedule. He’d ride for a week at most and come home during the weekends to settle on some paperwork. But after that party he attended with Levi, he no longer had to travel for miles just to present his services to interested clients. Lately, he found himself busy entertaining them in his own home.

It’s been two weeks since that big social event and Erwin has had many visitors come to him personally to inquire about his business. Hange was right. Showing up with Levi had done wonders. Word travels fast. Many were complimenting him on his new change of lifestyle. That he finally came to his senses and got himself a slave. Erwin has had many lords and ladies visit him and most of them had signed up for Erwin’s services. It had been such a pleasant surprise at first but as the week went on, it turned into a kind of nuisance.

Erwin can’t complain. He’s thankful, really. His business no longer troubles him at night right before he sleeps. But this new set-up has made Erwin prefer doing all the visiting. He has control of the time and can leave when negotiations are done. This new set-up was fine and all and he can take playing the host for most days. But one problem he faces with this is when the lords and ladies not only extend their visit but it’s when they also request to see Levi.

Erwin never really lets them see him. It’s strange but it’s like he doesn’t want to share Levi with the rest for now. He may not be his since he doesn’t consider him his slave. But he doesn’t like it when other people study him. Because that’s what most of them did at that party and he doesn’t like having other people’s eyes on Levi. Levi had looked uncomfortable even if he hadn’t made it known. And well, Erwin wasn’t pleased with them scrutinizing him. Hange advised him to let them see Levi because it was considered rude not to do so. Slaves were meant to be shown off. So one afternoon, Erwin finally gives in and has Levi join them in his parlor while he’s entertaining a few ladies.

Levi stands in the entryway in a red violet robe that’s a bit see through if he stood much closer to the windows where the sun shone. The neckline on his robe is wide, revealing his collarbones to which the lady and her friends immediately gushed about. Erwin resists the urge to frown and send Levi back up to change into something more decent when he remembers that this is how slaves dress. The more skin they’re showing, the more natural it is in public.

And Levi is such a natural slave in their eyes even though he is quite peculiar. Not a lot of slaves carry the same aura he has. For Erwin, Levi is an attractive sight in that room that it was getting very distracting. It has Erwin focus harder on his guests before he loses them as his clients.

Erwin introduces them and Levi greets them back with a small dip of his head. Erwin then tells him to take a seat. But instead of doing so by his side, Levi approaches him and sits by his feet, legs spilling to his side and his hands on his lap. Erwin is confused by this for a moment when he remembers once again the things slaves do when they’re invited to sit with their masters when they’re with friends.

The ladies look intimidated by Levi but it doesn’t stop them from raving about him. They talk about his eyes and his jawline. They talk about the structure of his face like they’re discussing a piece of art. One had asked if she could pet him and Erwin, not really wanting anyone to touch Levi, joked how he’d get jealous if anyone else touched his slave. The ladies blushed and squealed at that, opting to oggle at him with their own eyes instead.

Erwin eases the conversation gently back to his business so he can finish this before the day ended. He charms the ladies with his generous offer of overseeing their estates and personally picking out the men to watch over them. They were impressed as always by Erwin’s charms and it isn’t long before they’re agreeing to sign a contract.

Erwin has tea and pastries served in the middle of negotiations and it is only when Erwin moves to fix the papers on his desk that he feels Levi shift by his feet. Levi had apparently fallen asleep earlier and Erwin, hiding his amusement that Levi didn’t even care that there were guests in the room with them, reaches down to stroke his hair. He can feel him shudder under his touch and Erwin’s hands linger for a while before he gets back to his visitors.

They spend the rest of their break talking about another upcoming event. Erwin lets the ladies do most of the talking while he listens and nods his head. He reaches for one of the pastries in front of him and breaks off a small piece to feed to Levi, only that he doesn’t take it. Erwin looks down at him to see why when he’s met with Levi just looking at him judgingly.

“My hands are clean. They’re free of ink,” He says quietly, just loud enough for him to hear. This seems to please Levi and he finally opens his mouth for Erwin to feed him.

Erwin feeds Levi pastries and cookies and doesn’t stop until he finally tells him to. Levi didn’t eat much. But he had taken most of what Erwin offered. Erwin didn’t even realize he was feeding him a lot. He was too engrossed at Levi licking at his fingers whenever he fed him. His attention may look like it’s directed at the ladies in front of him but in actuality, it’s Levi who has all of it. Levi who loves sliding his tongue along his forefinger, licking at the chocolate icing of the pastry Erwin fed him. Levi who leaves small bites on his thumb and looking up at him, seemingly innocent.

Every part of Erwin’s skin tingles whenever Levi does this. It has his stomach coil and uncoil as he sits there. Erwin loses his focus on the topic being talked about and plays with Levi instead. He makes sure to clean his hands before he starts stroking Levi’s face and brushes his thumb across his mouth while he pretends to listen. He pets him, runs his hands through his hair, lets his fingers draw tiny circles on his exposed shoulder.

He touches Levi who seems to allow him to touch anywhere he likes. Touching one’s slave even in public wasn’t frowned upon. The ladies in front of him didn’t mind he was petting his slave as they talked. But this was something new to Erwin and he touches him in this careful and calculated way, exploring every part of him he can reach.

Levi eventually dozes off again at his touches. He has his cheek rest in his lap and Erwin’s hand in his hair. The ladies seem to find that adorable and they announce their leave so Erwin can take care of his slave. Erwin carefully eases Levi in a comfortable sleeping position and inserts one of the throw pillows under his head. He then sees his guests to the door, reluctantly leaving Levi asleep in his parlor.

“You have a very unique slave,” One of the ladies tell him while they wait for their carriage to come around the front.

“He is.” Erwin answers with a smile.

“Where did you purchase him?” The second lady asks.

“He was a gift from a friend.”

“Your friend has good taste.”

Erwin laughs at the thought of that. Hange rarely shares the same tastes as him but he had to admit, Levi was a nice pick out of the rest.

They bid him goodbye and promise to do more business with him. Erwin stays by the door until the gates finally close behind them.

Erwin goes back to his parlor, tired and weary at all the hosting he had done for the week. But somehow, knowing that Levi is with him makes it all bearable. He lingers by the doorway just watching him sleep. He looks untroubled. It’s the only time Levi’s brow isn’t pulled together, a thing Erwin sees him doing a lot of times.

He only moves to pick him up when he realizes how cold the floor must be for him to be lying down on it for so long. Levi is small and light in his arms when he carries him up the stairs. He cradles him and tries not to jostle him too much when he lays him down on his bed. His sheets are thicker and can warm him up better than the ones in Levi’s room.

Levi stirs despite Erwin being very careful. His eyelids flutter open and Erwin stares down at him fondly. Up close, Levi looks far too young. Erwin can’t tell how old he is. But he’s sure he can’t be older than him or younger than what he presumes him to be. Levi’s eyes give that away when Erwin looks at him. It’s as if he’s seen things, carried some kind of weight through the years.

Erwin’s arms are still underneath Levi’s from where he carried him. He’s no longer cold now but a little warm due to the comforter he’s lying on and with Erwin’s weight pressing down on him. Their noses brush and Erwin slowly pulls back to give him space when Levi reaches around his neck and stops him from doing so.

Erwin stares down at his half lidded eyes. He can smell the soap he used this morning. Something about him feels nice in his hold. Erwin doesn’t let go of him but it’s getting harder to be this close without him doing anything else. He wants to kiss him, a want that thrums inside him much like that night in the carriage when he kissed him for the first time. But this time, he’s aware of it. He still has enough self-control not to kiss him. He only stares, _wanting_. He only holds him in his arms until Levi lifts his head up slightly, capturing his lips in his.

It takes Erwin by surprise, but only for a second. The kiss isn’t like the one they shared in the carriage. It’s not a simple press of the lips anymore. This time, it’s different, wherein Levi is kissing him with such eagerness, fingers finding purchase in his blond hair as he tugs him lower. Erwin does not realize, not until he gives in, leaning towards him until Levi’s head thunks back in the pillow, that he’s kissing him back with the same amount of urgency.

It hits him hard, the way he wants Levi. He’s seen this coming at him from a distance but he always knew he wouldn’t cave. Erwin has always been in control and yet he feels it slipping away from his grasp. Levi’s lips are moving insistently against his own, eager and hungry just as he is. Erwin presses down on him, engulfing Levi’s smaller form. The hand he has under Levi is pressing him upwards to meet him and Levi curves for him willingly.

Levi feels so small in his hold that he almost feels breakable. It has Erwin ease up a little but Levi won’t have it as he hooks a leg around him and flips their position. Erwin’s eyes widen for a moment, surprised at his strength and Levi smirks down at him, pleased at what he just did. Erwin, amused, sits up to kiss him again since he can’t seem to get enough of his lips but Levi only pushes him back down, palm flat on his chest.

He starts unbuttoning his shirt. Erwin watches in anticipation, his pants tightening as Levi moves his hips from where he’s straddling him. He’s not wearing anything underneath his robe and Erwin wants to take what’s rest of the thin material off. There seem to be so many barriers between them, Erwin in his own garments and Levi still dressed. But Levi won’t let him. He undresses Erwin in this slow maddening pace, picking at his outer garments with his fingers sensually trailing along his ribs, that Erwin finally sits up, takes Levi’s wrist so he can stop teasing him and pulls him down so he can kiss him instead.

Erwin slides his hands up Levi’s thighs, feeling how plush they are until his hands cup at his ass. His robes gather at his hips that it makes it easier for Erwin to knead at his ass cheeks. He guides Levi along the bulge in his pants and Levi grinds down where he wants him to.

Erwin sucks in air when Levi leaves his lips in favor of kissing along his jaw to his earlobe. Erwin squeezes his eyes shut as he feels Levi’s hot breath in his neck. He feels so stifled, his garments too constricting even if Levi had managed to take off some of his clothing. He sits up and reluctantly moves Levi off of him so he can get off the bed and undress himself.

His heart is hammering as he strips the last remaining clothing off of him. The taste of Levi in his lips lingers and he licks his bottom lip to catch the rest of it. He feels all tense and wound up. It’s been awhile for him and blood rushes through his head when he feels the ache in his groin from wanting this.

He turns to the bed to continue where he left off but he stops when he sees Levi naked on all fours, half of his face covered in the pillows. There’s a jar of oil open beside him already which he had retrieved from his bedside drawer, and he has one hand reaching down between his legs. Erwin’s eyes flicker to his fingers and he notes there are already four inside him.

Erwin can’t look away. The way his hole is stretched and the way his ass seem to take it has Erwin’s cock twitch. Levi gives a soft moan and Erwin’s attention goes back to his face where he sees it contort into a look of utmost concentration. There’s a crease in his brow, his hair spilling beautifully across his face.

Erwin climbs on the bed, sliding a hand down Levi’s back before he positions behind him. He takes out Levi’s fingers inside him, notes the way his ass followed as if chasing it back. Erwin then dips his own fingers in oil. He continues what he interrupted, slipping his own fingers inside and stretching him open. Levi’s already stretched but his fingers are thicker than his so it adds a bit more. Levi’s walls clench around him and this has Erwin pleased. He opens him up for him, fucks him slow and just revels at the feel of Levi so submissive in his hand. He looks so long in front of him and he runs his free hand up and down his spine, petting him in encouragement.

Erwin can’t see Levi’s face. But he imagines him breathless judging from the way Levi’s hands curl at the sheets as if holding on for dear life. The muscles in his back ripple and move as if trying to accommodate Erwin exploring and opening him up with his fingers. Erwin presses and watches those muscles dance until Levi goes rigid, his whole body tense.

That doesn’t stop Erwin from what he’s doing. He feels his walls tightening around his fingers and then easing up again. He continues until Levi is gasping, gripping at the sheets again and telling him to stop.

“Why?” Erwin asks, hand still sliding in and out of him. Levi is trembling in front of him. The muscles on his back are moving again, probably trying to adjust to Erwin’s ministrations.

“I should…” Levi’s breath hitches as Erwin rubs on a sensitive spot.

“Should what?” Erwin prods. He curls his fingers inside him and Levi tenses once more.

“If you want to come, just do so.” Erwin says but Levi doesn’t seem to like this as he finally musters up the strength to move, pulling away and turning around so he can face him.

Levi is beautiful. Erwin takes a moment to stare at his naked body lying there. With his robes on, Levi looks small and slender and frail. It’s because they swallow him, the sizes too big for him. But naked, Levi is lean and muscular, arms well defined and stomach toned. His cock is hard and erect, the tip already leaking pre-come that has Erwin’s mouth go dry. He is pale, but Erwin can see faded scars and old wounds in some areas. Most slaves, whether man or woman, were taught to be flawless. They had to be unblemished, slender and soft. But Levi is all sharp edges with beautiful rough curves and marks on his skin, and Erwin thinks he has never seen a slave so perfect.

Levi shakily gets to his knees and straddles him. Erwin is pushed down so he’s lying back on the mattress. Levi wraps a hand around his dick, his hand still slicked with oil as he starts stroking him, eyes never leaving his. Erwin lets him slide his hand up and down his shaft until he’s consumed with impatience again, his own hips almost bucking in his hand. He’s hard and aching and he _wants_ Levi. This time, Levi seems to get it. He lifts himself up, angles his cock near his entrance and sinks down.

Erwin’s cock throbs inside Levi. He closes his eyes and revels at the tight heat wrapped around him. He only opens his eyes and starts breathing again as Levi starts riding him. But he only gets to suck in short breaths when Levi tips his head back, eyes shut and mouth parted beautifully. Erwin moves so he can sit up and latch on to his neck. He sucks. He presses his lips and sucks on a patch of his skin. He knows he’s leaving a bruising mark that would easily show tomorrow. Yet he doesn’t care. Not now when Levi is riding him like this. He squeezes Levi’s waist as he holds him, leaves encouragements in his ear and Levi moans out loud for him, voice hoarse and breathless.

The lines between slave and guest blur in Erwin’s head as Levi continues to ride him. He bounces on Erwin’s lap, his thighs never wavering at the steady pace he keeps. His walls clench deliciously around his dick that Erwin has to keep up and try his best to prolong his release.

Erwin hasn’t been this intimate with someone else in a long while and everything that’s been building up in the last few weeks pools in his stomach. He’s the one lifting Levi now and bringing him back down, but it’s not enough. Erwin winds an arm around him as he brings him down on the bed and starts fucking him hard. Levi’s nails dig into his skin. He’s writhing and gasping in his hold and the look on his face, cheeks flushed and brow dotted with sweat has Erwin finally come inside him unprepared. He rides out his orgasm, still pistoning his hips in and out of Levi until he hears him give a sharp intake of breath. Levi comes hard, the slave’s walls clenching around his cock that Erwin jerks inside him.

Levi, who had been rigid the entire time, is soon pliant in his hold. Erwin kisses his neck then his shoulder as he pulls out of him, white cum dribbling down his ass cheeks. He’s spent. They both are. But Erwin feels Levi get up and leave the bed. He leaves the room and Erwin wonders where he went when he comes back, his posture a bit off, with a cloth and a basin filled with water.

“Levi, you don’t have to-”

Levi only gives him a sharp look that has Erwin quiet down. He lets him clean his stomach where he came all over him. Erwin watches as he too cleans himself up and then tells him to stay before he can even think to leave the room. There’s apprehension on Levi’s face but only for a moment. Erwin doesn’t give him much time to think. He pulls Levi next to him, his chest pressed to Levi’s back as he buries his face in his hair before he finally succumbs to sleep.

 

* * *

 

“You didn’t stay for the night.”

Levi looks up from his plate at him. They’re eating a late meal together since Erwin didn’t get up until almost noon. Last night’s events and the week’s work that quickly piled up on him finally took it’s toll. Erwin has never slept so long in a while that the servants were reluctant to knock on his door and ask if he would like lunch served instead of coming down. Erwin, who was almost awake the third time they hovered outside his door, decided to get up than laze around and requested for Levi to join him to eat.

He woke up to an empty room. Levi had been in his hold when he fell asleep but he hadn’t felt him leave. He found the clothes he tossed last night neatly folded and hung on his chair. There was no trace of Levi in his room nor what they did last night. Even the oil they left opened is neatly placed back in his drawer. If Erwin hadn’t felt his thighs and muscles ache, he would’ve thought that all of it was a dream.

Erwin looks at Levi, waiting for his response. He has on a white cotton robe today, the sleeves of it far too large on him but nevertheless looks beautiful on him. Erwin makes a note to buy him clothes for his size before the week ends.

There’s also a small mark on his neck that has Erwin’s insides stir when he noticed it.

“You snore in your sleep.” Levi answers, going back to his meal. This has Erwin fight a smile as he too goes back to his food. He had been expecting a rehearsed answer from him but he’s pleased that Levi chose to be honest and had humored him instead.

“Are you alright?” Erwin asks after a while as he pours himself a cup of tea. He doesn’t have to explain further what he meant by that. He knows Levi will understand.

“Yes…” Levi sounds hesitant that Erwin looks at him as he brings the cup of tea to his lips. “No.” Levi says at last. “You’re huge.”

Erwin almost chokes on his tea.

They’re interrupted by Hange arriving with a dozen rolled up documents in their arms. Their face is covered by them, but as soon as they plop the documents down on an empty spot on the table, Hange blinks at him from under their glasses then finally lets out a squeal when they spot Levi with him too.

“This is the first time I’ve seen you two share a meal!” Hange exclaims, pulling up a chair and joining them. “It’s nice seeing you two together like this.”

Erwin only responds by telling the servants to set up a plate for Hange. Meanwhile, Levi does not say anything else but only pours tea for himself.

Hange is always welcome to his home so Erwin doesn’t mind Hange making themselves comfortable. Erwin lets them fawn over Levi being with them rather than being cooped up in his room or in the library. He knows how much Hange is pleased to see their gift still in Erwin’s home weeks after his birthday.

Levi finally excuses himself after much of Hange raving about him. He does not look offended but Erwin knows how he feels. Being with Hange can sometimes feel like it’s too much so it doesn’t bother him that he leaves quickly.

Hange picks up a strawberry from the fruit platter in front of them and pops the whole thing in their mouth.

“You tried him out, didn’t you.”

The teasing smile Hange has only makes Erwin choose to drink his tea rather than give an answer.

“Oh come on, Erwin. I saw something on his neck. And did you see the way he walked? Just how hard did you take him last night for him to walk away limping-”

“Hange,” Erwin clears his throat as he hears some of the servants waiting on them trying their hardest not to giggle. “Why are you here?”

Hange motions to the documents they carried earlier. “You have papers to sign. You sent for me, remember?”

Erwin does not remember but he finishes his tea and leads Hange to his study so they can work on them.

They work for most of the afternoon. Erwin goes through every document and has Hange recheck them. These are things that Erwin is already confident in but it helps when he has his legal adviser read through them once more.

Apparently, his sales have doubled. He knew he was doing fine after that night at the Dok’s estate. But Erwin hadn’t been expecting it would give him this kind of result. He’s surprised and thrilled that he doesn’t have to worry about the sales for the next month and Hange congratulates him on a job well done.

He doesn’t think about anything much other than the work he has to do. Erwin has always been diligent when it comes to handling the business that he doesn’t stop to think about anything else. Not until Hange finally leaves him, all documents signed and papers proof read, that he finally lets his own personal thoughts creep up to him.

There’s something bothering him. Not just about last night. Erwin leans back in his seat as he closes his eyes for awhile, trying to sort out his thoughts. This has been with him from the start and he had always known the answer to this. But now that he’s slept with Levi, seen and felt it first hand what slaves can do, it’s filling his head with a kind of unease.

There’s a soft knock on his door and Erwin opens his eyes but does not look to see who it is. He hears faint footsteps padding towards him. Those graceful and light steps that he’s starting to get attuned to. He does finally straighten up in his seat when he hears something tinkling as if a tray is being set down. Levi had brought him tea.

“They left?” Levi asks, placing a small biscuit on his saucer.

“Yes.” Erwin sits upright and takes the tea he offered. He sips, letting the hot liquid soothe his senses.

Erwin watches as Levi pours himself a cup of tea and sits on the chair in front of his desk. He notes that there are two cups in one tray. Levi intended to stay with him in his office. It makes Erwin think back to what was bothering him earlier. He was wondering of the days leading up to last night. If all of it was an act. Levi is a slave. He knew that from the start. So why was it bothering him that last night could have been an act of service by the slave? Did Levi sleep with him because it was expected of him to please his master? Everything last night, all those moans and sighs. Those touches. The way he shuddered in his hold. Was it Levi performing his duties as a pleasure slave?

And right now. This act of caring. Bringing him tea rather than letting the servants do it. Was this real? Or was it Levi serving his master?

Erwin doesn’t take his eyes off of him. He watches those lips press onto the fine teacup, his adam’s apple bobbing as he drinks. Erwin’s eyes trail down his jaw, to his neck where the mark he left last night still blossomed, down to where his shoulder is exposed due to his robes being so large.

It’s unsettling, looking at him like this and knowing the role he’s playing. It troubles Erwin yet he can’t stop the way his insides stir when Levi’s presence is this close.

Erwin stands up and rounds the desk slowly towards him. Levi looks up, noticing that he’s approaching him and places his cup down on the table. If he’s curious at Erwin suddenly getting up, he doesn’t show it. He only watches him. Erwin holds his gaze. All those thoughts about last night are nagging at him to find out for himself what’s real, because he can’t seem to understand why it’s bothering him so.

It unnerves Erwin the way he can’t figure out this person. Levi is looking back at him and all Erwin can see from his gaze is that he looks like he’s challenging him. Slaves never look at their masters like this. Slaves lower their eyes and look bashfully at their owners. Levi is far from being a bashful slave.

Erwin stands there, continues to look at him, trying to figure him out, until he finally caves.

He doesn’t ask him. Erwin finds words can be useless at times even if he uses it often in his day to day transactions. He’s known to be eloquent. But very few people can understand what he says. And what he wants to find out can’t be uncovered with just words. Erwin chooses to satiate his thoughts by bending down towards Levi and using his lips.

It’s obvious that Levi is surprised at this sudden action with his lips unmoving against Erwin’s at first. But only for a split second and he catches on quick, kissing Erwin back, mouth opening up to him and head tipped back to reach him from where he’s sitting. Erwin hooks an arm around him to pick him up and plop him on the table beside the tray he brought in earlier. He settles him down harshly, the teacups and the saucers rattling against the tray at Levi’s weight.

“Master?” Levi inquires out quietly. Erwin hates how he uses it to call him that. He hates being called _master_ when he doesn’t want this to be a kind of service. He does not own him despite the many days Levi spent under his care. But it sends a shiver down his spine and has his cock twitch in his pants. He hates the word _master_ but he loves the way it comes from Levi.

Erwin slides his hand under Levi’s robes. He isn’t wearing anything underneath as usual. It makes things easier for Erwin to just slip his hand and find his cock. Levi stiffens in surprise when Erwin wraps his hand around him but he relaxes when he starts stroking him.

Erwin keeps his eyes on Levi’s face, watching every emotion flit through him. Levi is staring back, his expression challenging him once more. This might be familiar ground for Levi but for Erwin, it’s something he’s not used to dealing with. But he doesn’t dare show it. He’s never one to openly show what he’s thinking of.

Erwin’s palm is large that even if he already has his hand wrapped around Levi’s dick, his thumb still reaches the slave’s tip. Levi’s mouth parts as he lets out an inaudible gasp as Erwin presses on the slit. His eyes are no longer looking back at him like it did before. It’s a bit unguarded and Erwin is pleased that he can at least see a little bit through the enigma that is Levi.

He uses his other hand to push the slave’s robe’s up to his chest where he can touch his nipple. Levi shudders when he circles his thumb over it. Erwin watches, transfixed at the way the muscles in Levi’s abdomen tighten whenever he rubs on a sensitive spot.

“Master,” Levi speaks up, voice a bit raspy. “You shouldn’t be doing this.”

Erwin leans closer to him and hums right in between his jaw and earlobe. He can feel Levi’s breath hitch at that.

“Why not?” Erwin asks, letting his lips graze his skin lightly.

Levi’s hands that are on Erwin’s forearms, squeeze around him.

“It’s not… I should be the one-”

Erwin doesn’t want him to say it out loud. He releases him just for a moment so he can hike his bent legs near his shoulders and then bends further down to take his cock in his mouth.

Levi gasps out loud, hands on Erwin’s shoulders clutching at him tight as he tastes him. It’s obvious that his guest hadn’t expected to be sucked off in the middle of the afternoon. Hadn’t expected to be pleased rather than the other way around. Erwin likes that he took him by surprise.

He sucks him off the way Levi did that night he came to his room. Maddeningly slow and teasing. He sucks on the head of his cock and then drags his lips all the way down his shaft. Levi, who hadn’t been that hard earlier, already is from what he’s doing. Erwin releases him only to suck down at the crown while his hand is sliding up and down his length.

Levi moans out loud, head tipped back as Erwin throws his legs over his shoulders so he can take him in deeper. Levi’s back is arched beautifully and Erwin slides a hand over his stomach up to his chest. Levi looks back down at him just as his hand reaches Levi’s jaw to cup his face. His thumb is right near his bottom lip and Erwin watches as Levi parts his mouth to take his thumb and sucks on it.

He’s fascinated at the way this slave gives himself up for his master despite their positions being switched. A master that doesn’t even acknowledge he is one. Levi pleasures him back in whatever way he can even when Erwin has a hold on him. He sucks on his thumb and his eyes, although hooded, are transfixed on Erwin. Erwin can feel himself straining in his pants just by looking at him.

But it’s not supposed to be this way. It’s not supposed to be about Erwin. It’s supposed to be about Levi and wanting to break down every wall and see for himself what’s real. Erwin pulls his hand away from him, takes one last glance at Levi’s lips all moist and then concentrates on his cock that’s still in his hand.

Erwin continues to suck him off and it’s no longer slow. He pays attention to where Levi likes to be licked and to be touched. He swallows around him a few times then strokes him fast until Levi is pushing at his shoulders, the sound of his office filled with him panting to be released from his hold.

“Master, stop. I’m going to- Master please, you can’t-”

Erwin ignores his pleas which are eventually replaced by a sharp yet quiet gasp. Levi stills in his hold and Erwin’s mouth is filled with warm cum that he gladly swallows.

Erwin finally pulls back and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. He straightens up and looks at Levi lying there on his desk with his legs spread, cock now limp and milked dry. The blush on his cheeks from his climax spreads down to his chest. He looks beautiful wrecked like this, sweaty and breathless. Erwin takes in as much as he can because right now, the way Levi looks all perplexed and dazed, makes him feel triumphant.

There’s an ache in between his legs that Erwin ignores as he picks up Levi in his arms. Levi, though dazed, looks at him questioningly.

Erwin only ignores his curious gaze as he carries him up to his room.

 

* * *

 

“Where did you purchase him?”

Hange looks up from their glasses. They’re sitting right across from Erwin in his library. It’s gloomy outside. It’s been like that throughout the week. It’ll rain in a while, judging by the looks of it and how heavy the skies seem to be. It looked so heavy that it was bound to finally give way. He and Hange were supposed to visit a client today. But Erwin canceled when he saw how grim and grey the skies looked.

It’s been over a week since they’ve had such a good weather. A week since Erwin had Levi in his mouth in his office. The next few days after that were all about work, that Erwin hadn’t had the time to sort out his thoughts and take notice of what else was going on in his life.

“At one of the shops that sell pleasure slaves.” Hange answers, leaning back to rest their head back on the armchair.

“Which one?” Erwin asks as he too leans back to look at the way the wind outside is starting to pick up, blowing away the fallen leaves on the ground.

“Just one of those novelty shops,” Hange continues. “The ones that sell them to a specific client.”

Erwin sees Mike outside leading his men, who were training earlier, back to their base. It was really going to rain. Hard. Mike doesn’t usually let the weather get in the way of training their men. But he knew when to put a stop to it.

“Why him?” Erwin asks, standing up from his chair so he can close the windows now. The wind howls as it hits the glass pane. “Why… Levi?”

Erwin sees Hange’s reflection on the windows. Hange is smiling. A soft nostalgic smile like they’re thinking about something.

“You never liked the slaves I got you.”

“Pleasure slaves were never on the list of things I want.” Erwin answers.

“Do you even have a list?” Hange laughs as they take off their glasses and wipes them on the edge of their shirt. “You were never one to want anything, Erwin.”

That was true. He would like to think that he has everything. And yet, he still feels like he lacks something. Maybe Hange is right. He never had a list. Or he didn’t even know he had one. If he did, he has no idea what could be in it.

“But I do know what you don’t like.” Hange continues. “You never liked flashy things. Nor loud and bright stuff. You also never liked it when things are so easy. You like a challenge. You’re a simple man, Erwin. But you always think differently than others.”

Erwin has to smile at that. How long has Hange known him to be able to understand this much about him.

“You like to be fascinated. And Levi… he fascinates you, doesn’t he?”

“Yes,” Erwin admits. “He does.”

Levi is fascinating. Levi doesn’t make things easy for him. He isn’t loud and bright but someone calm and quiet yet enough for Erwin’s attention to be preoccupied with. Levi isn’t beautiful and handsome either but alluring. And Erwin has come to find how attracted he is by all this.

But then…

“Why did you get me one?” Erwin always wondered that. “Why a pleasure slave for every year?”

Erwin looks at Hange’s reflection on the windows and sees the smile they have turn into a look that’s reserved for when Hange only ever feels concerned.

“Because it felt like you needed one.” Hange catches his gaze. “That maybe you’ll finally be able to keep one for yourself so you don’t have to be so lonely anymore.”

There’s a soft patter against his windows letting Erwin turn his attention back to the weather. The droplets hitting against the glass is blurring Hange’s reflection. Erwin focuses on the garden outside. But he can’t see anything anymore. The rain starts drowning out everything he’s seeing and thinking, and eventually fills the room and his head with a thunderous sound.

 

* * *

 

Erwin doesn’t think he’s lonely. His father may have left him at a young age and he only visits his mother once a year. He has no siblings nor does he have any close relatives nearby. But Erwin is surrounded by his friends, and his house is filled with servants so he doesn’t consider himself lonely.

And it’s not like he’s always alone. He goes to every social gathering and is always busy entertaining people that the only time he’s ever alone is when he works or when he sleeps.

But the way Hange said it…

Erwin stares blankly at the small shops they’re passing by. The gloomy weather finally let up after three days and it was safe to travel once more. They had to pass by town to pick up a few supplies on the way home. The ride had turned from a hurried pace to a slow one as the afternoon crowd around them start to thicken.

Erwin stares at a couple across the street chatting animatedly. He could marry. He could have kids. But then again, he’s not that cruel to have someone marry him, only to be trapped in this life Erwin leads. One where he doesn’t even know what he wants but is not even close to feeling contented with everything. Most of the time, he just feels like he’s drifting.

Erwin closes the curtains and sits back inside the carriage. He’s taken care of himself for a long time. He can continue to do so for the rest of his life.

His thoughts keep him preoccupied until they arrive home. His servants greet him, taking his coat from him and announcing that dinner is ready.

Erwin steps inside, the warmth of his home welcoming him. He passes by the library as he makes his way up the stairs. He stops halfway though when he sees the view from outside his library has Levi out in the garden.

Erwin slowly makes his way back down. He has his eyes on Levi sitting on the ground with his legs bent to his chest and playing with a blade of grass in his finger. He’s wearing loose pants with a light top on. Erwin leans against a bookshelf as he watches him being just by himself.

He likes Levi. He can admit that now even if it comes with an unpleasant feeling in his stomach. Because he really does, and liking someone especially a person like Levi is difficult. Because it's expected to like a pleasure slave. They were trained to make people like them.

Still… Erwin watches as the late afternoon breeze ruffles Levi’s hair. Levi is different. Levi makes him feel something different. He’ll never know whether he likes being kissed or not, or if he likes it when Erwin fucks him on his hands and knees. He may never know what goes on in his head or whether Levi still thinks of all this as a kind of duty. But he likes him. He’s made Erwin’s life in the last couple of weeks interesting. It’s like there’s all this empty space that Erwin has in his life and Levi is filling them up one by one. He no longer drowns himself in work. And even if Levi is quiet, his presence is loud enough for Erwin to notice him. Levi being around him makes such a huge difference.

Erwin finally tears his gaze away from the sight of the slave out in the garden.

Hange was right. Maybe he is lonely.

 

* * *

 

Dinner is quiet that night. Dinner has always been quiet in the Smith household. But tonight seems to have that uncanny sort of silence. The servants don’t ask him what’s bothering him. They only stand by, waiting on Erwin.

Levi is with him. Levi has taken to eating meals with him at Erwin’s request. They’d usually talk during meal times. Just small conversations about anything. What he did around the house today. What Erwin did during work that day. Casual yet earnest conversations. But tonight, Levi doesn’t talk to him. It’s like he can read the mood as well. Erwin can see Levi sneaking glances at him from the corner of his eye, but he doesn’t speak up. Erwin is grateful for that. He’s grateful for the silence.

They finish their meal quietly and when Erwin is done, he pushes his chair back so he can leave. Erwin passes by Levi on the way out and stops when Levi speaks up.

“Master, is something bothering you?”

An answer is on the tip of Erwin’s tongue. Yes, there’s something bothering him. But he doesn’t know what exactly.

Erwin turns to Levi who’s looking up at him. Is he concerned, perhaps? Erwin wonders. It’s natural for a slave to be concerned for his master.

Erwin places a hand on his shoulder, touching him lightly.

“Walk with me.” He says.

They walk outside the garden where Erwin always sees Levi. At night, there’s not much to see except to feel the air around them. The lights surrounding the bushes are dim, creating a soothing ambience. There are guards stationed every few meters and they step into the shadows to give them their privacy.

It takes a while for Erwin to speak.

“Why did you choose to be a pleasure slave?” He asks. He’s not sure if that was what’s bothering him. Maybe it is. He can’t help but want to know. He knows how pleasure slaves choose this life out of their own free will. They learn the ropes once they’re of legal age. They’re only called slaves because of their submission to their masters. But choosing to be one solely comes from their own decision.

Levi doesn’t seem like the type who want to be a pleasure slave. But Erwin can’t be sure. He’s good at what he does. He’s proven that to him.

Levi doesn’t look bothered by this question at all.

“Some of us aren’t born a noble. Some of us aren’t filthy rich.”

Erwin does not take offense.

“Some of us have lives outside other than owning large estates and going to parties.”

“And you?” Erwin asks. “What did you do?”

“Steal food to make a living.”

Erwin walks silently beside him. He only realizes how close they’re walking when their arms brush. But neither of them make a move to step away.

“Is that why you became a slave?” Erwin asks as they head deeper in the garden. The lights have faded now and it’s the stars that illuminate their path.

“No.” Levi says. “A friend of mine was sick. Medicine was too hard to get by. Stealing wasn’t enough. I decided to become a slave, took on the proper training and sold myself to a lord so he can pay for her sickness.”

“Is she well now?”

“She’s dead.” Levi answers, looking at him. “So I suppose, yes, she’s well now.”

Levi’s story is a sad one. But Levi doesn’t sound sad. He doesn’t sound angry for what happened to his friend either. He sounds like how someone tells a story that happened a long long time ago. Like there wasn’t anything he can do to change that. Like he’s used to it. But underneath all that impassive exterior, Erwin can detect a kind of tiredness in his voice.

The night air picks up. Levi doesn’t look like he’s cold in the thin top and loose pants he’s wearing. But Erwin takes off the outer garment he has and wraps it around him anyway. Levi looks startled at first but doesn’t pull away when Erwin places it on him.

They continue on their stroll and Levi continues with his story.

“The lord who I was with sold me off when he decided to marry. He didn’t need a pleasure slave anymore.”

Slaves aren’t usually sold off again or given away. Slaves were kept for life in their master’s household. To hear that Levi was sold off because his master got married wasn’t commonly practiced. But it wasn’t unheard of either.

“The next lord I was with died of an illness. The next one sold me off. And the next one was… not right in the head.”

All those old faded scars Erwin saw and the weight Levi seem to carry in his eyes as he said that has Erwin frown. He can only imagine what he had gone through, to pleasure every man and woman out there and to be a perfect slave for them. To satisfy his masters at all cost.

“Until a novelty shop took me in.” Levi pauses. “I met your friend a year later.”

At the thought of ownership, Erwin’s eyes find Levi’s neck.

“You don’t have a collar.” He says. This had puzzled him before. A pleasure slave always wore the mark of his or her owner. Whether it be a collar or a leash connecting to their masters. Even when they were newly purchased, slaves wore collars to show that they were already owned. They’re either gifted with one by their masters or a temporary one is given by the shop upon purchase. But Levi arrived in his home never wearing any.

“I requested that.” Levi says. “I was always sold off. I didn’t want anyone to put a collar on me when they won’t know whether they’ll keep me for real. Four eyes said that would be alright.”

They stop at a clearing in the garden. There’s an old fountain in the middle that Erwin’s mother had requested to be put right before his father died. It was never finished. But the plans she had were beautiful. Levi is staring at it intently, as if trying to picture out what the fountain would look like whole. Erwin takes this time to look at him. He’s looking at him just like how Levi is looking at the fountain. How he’s so fascinated by what’s left of the pieces he’s seeing.

They start walking back towards the house now, still in the same slow pace, when Levi asks Erwin what his story is. Erwin likes how Levi had dropped the formal tone with him. He also looks a little relaxed, shoulders no longer stiff.

“Well,” Erwin motions to where they are. “I’m a businessman. There’s nothing more to it than that.”

Levi gives a small huff. “There’s always something.”

Erwin doesn’t answer him. He sees Levi looking at him from the corner of his eye, but Erwin doesn’t meet his gaze. He lets him study him, just like how he observed the slave earlier that evening by the fountain.

“Fine,” Levi says. “A businessman. A businessman that always looks…”

Erwin knows the end of that sentence. Sad. Lonely. Closed off. Everything he already knows. Levi doesn’t have to say it out loud.

“Busy?” Erwin offers instead and gives a small chuckle when Levi doesn’t look even the slightest bit amused at his _master_ making a joke. “I know what you mean. And no, I’m not. I’m fine.”

“You’re doing it again,” Levi says. Erwin can see everything better now that they’re nearing the house and the lights from the garden have replaced the stars.

“Doing what?”

“Being nice.” Levi answers.

“But I am nice.”

“Yes. Yes, you are.”

Erwin holds Levi’s lingering gaze. There’s a glint in his eye that Erwin can’t look away from.

“That day in your office…” He starts.

Erwin knows what he’s talking about.

“Why did you do that?” Levi asks. He tugs at the garment Erwin wrapped on him so that it covers more of his shoulders.

“Am I not allowed to do that?” Erwin asks back.

“Pleasure slaves only do things to their masters. Masters do not do things to them.” Levi says.

“I am not your master.”

“Still…” Levi cocks his head to the side. “You were looking for something.”

“Yes.” Erwin answers.

“Did you find it?” Levi’s voice had gone lower, softer. Did Erwin find what he was looking for that day? When he kissed him, touched him, ran his tongue up his length and swallowed all of him, did he find it? Did it enable him to figure out a thing or two about Levi? Did it answer what was bothering him?

“No.” Erwin honestly replies. No. It hadn’t.

”Will you still look for it then?” Levi asks. His voice is so soft, almost whispering, and that’s when Erwin realizes they’re standing so close. Levi has his head tipped up towards him and Erwin has unconsciously bent his form down a little as if to meet him.

Winding an arm around him felt so natural and so did kissing him in the middle of that garden. Levi meets his lips, the press of his own so soft against his. Erwin can hear him sigh and he pulls him closer, lets the heat coming off of him warm him up.

Erwin can hear small movements around them and he knows his guards have turned their backs to them. Erwin kisses Levi back a bit more eagerly, tongue licking inside his mouth. Erwin splays his palm flat against the small of Levi’s back to push him flushed against him. Levi hooks his arms around his neck and Erwin, not really caring much about the people around them, slides his hand down, cups and squeezes Levi’s ass before he lifts him off of his feet and carries him inside.

Once again, he’s acting on impulse as he takes Levi to his room. Not once does he let go of him. Levi has his legs wrapped around his middle. His lips are busy on Erwin’s neck and jaw, his small hands sliding through his hair. Every tug sends a tingling sensation down to Erwin’s cock. Erwin has to focus on climbing up the stairs with Levi in his arms. He doesn’t rush. He takes his time, lets Levi do what he wants until they arrive.

He strips him and ties him up that night. Levi looked so long and stretched in his bed as Erwin tied his wrists together above his head. He prepares him despite Levi telling him he can do it by himself. He has four of his fingers in him, stretching him until Levi’s cock is hard and erect, thighs quivering as he obeys Erwin’s instructions to keep them spread open.

Levi hadn’t objected to being bound. But Erwin, even if his head was clouded with lust at the sight of Levi naked, couldn’t be sure. So he purposely loosened the knot so he can get out of it himself if he wanted. Levi hadn’t. All throughout the night, Levi never gets out of it. Even when Erwin fucks him hard enough that the bed digs in his walls, probably chipping off paint. Even when he pounds into him hard enough that Levi has tears in his eyes from trying to get his master to come before he does. Until he no longer is able to handle it and he finally comes, his moan coming out hoarse while Erwin comes afterwards from Levi pulsating around him.

Pleasure slaves always pleasure their masters first. But Levi is not a slave to him. He’s human. Erwin reminds him of that as he finally takes off the cloth he used to tie his hands together. He kisses his wrists, down to his arms and to his cheek.

Erwin whispers in his ear for him to stay for the night. Levi, probably too exhausted to move, only nods his head in reply and drifts off to sleep.

 

* * *

 

He continues to search for it.

Erwin doesn’t stop finding a way to see through Levi’s exterior. He takes him in different ways that Erwin is surprised at how much want seems to run through his veins whenever he takes Levi to bed. Every single time is all a blur and he doesn’t know whether all this is some pent up sexual need or it’s Levi who brings out this carnal thirst for pleasure within him.

Levi seems to catch on quick and he doesn’t give him the benefit of being the only one to do so. He pleasures him back. It’s like a tug of war on who pushes the other one off the edge first. And so far, they’re both pretty good at this game.

Erwin pleasures him not just in bed. He gifts him with robes and small trinkets. He engages him in meaningful conversations. He spoils and pleasures Levi to see if he can break him. In the process, he learns that Levi can be sometimes awkward. He doesn’t seem to know how to accept compliments. Levi is also meticulously clean. He cleans Erwin’s room a lot and helps the servants during the day. Erwin also learns that Levi is a good listener and he doesn’t realize that every small story he has, whether it be about his family or friends, he already shared with him.

Everything isn’t easy even when they have this strange sort of relationship that’s neither a master and a slave nor a lord and his guest. Erwin is still trying to figure out what they are. He makes it his goal to figure him out. But it’s so hard especially when Levi brings out this insatiable thirst to satisfy him and at the same time, wanting to know what’s real.

One day, Erwin brings Levi with him to meet a client. He hadn’t wanted to bring him for work but the rest of the afternoon was free that he had Levi tag along so they can visit town afterwards. Levi acts more like a slave again when in public, greeting Erwin’s clients with a small nod of his head and sitting by his feet where Erwin can stroke his hair and let him feed him.

“Where are we going?” Levi asks as they finally board the carriage after Erwin’s meeting ended.

“To town,” Erwin answers. “You’ve been cooped up in the house for so long.”

Levi shrugs, looking out the window. “I didn’t mind.”

Erwin brings him around town and they come across the same pastry shop where Erwin bought Levi those desserts he gave him back then.

“I wasn’t able to thank you for them.” Levi dips his head in gratitude. “Thank you.”

“What did you think of them?” Erwin asks as they step outside the carriage. People passing by stare at Erwin and his slave as they walk. Both of them make quite a sight: Erwin in his tall form and looking every bit of a lord with a slave by his side that doesn’t even look like a slave and one without a collar on.

“It was good.” Levi replies, ignoring the stares.

Erwin brings him inside. The smell of fresh baked breads and pastries fill their noses as they enter. The baker greets them both and asks if there’s anything he can get them.

“Is there anything you like?” Erwin asks Levi. But Levi does not point out anything. He just continues to look at the display of cakes and pastries filled with chocolate and nuts and fruit. He looks at every one of them in awe. Erwin has never seen him this entranced.

In the end, Erwin buys him a cake since that was the one thing Levi kept eyeing on. Levi looked at him horrified when Erwin tells the baker to put it in a box to go. But that doesn’t stop Erwin from still getting it.

“You shouldn’t have gotten it. It’s a really big cake.” Levi says as they walk out of the shop.

“We rarely have cake at home.” Erwin replies. “And you’d like it with tea.”

“We won’t be able to finish it.”

“Then we’ll share it with the rest. We have a house filled with helpers. We’ll give them all a slice each.”

This seems to appease Levi and he no longer says anything about it.

They bring the cake back to the carriage but they don’t board it just yet. Erwin takes Levi on a stroll around the town square where most of the crowd is at.

“It’s changed so much.” Levi murmurs beside him.

“Which one?”

“Everything.” Levi raises his head up to look at the structures around him. “I don’t recall seeing some of the buildings.”

Erwin wonders just how long Levi has been cooped up in that shop or with his previous masters. Slaves weren’t always kept at home. Lords and ladies usually take them around to show them off. Erwin wonders if Levi’s old masters ever took him out of their house.

Erwin takes him to the plaza. He shows him where sellers usually put up stalls to sell clothes, goods and food by the side. There’s a small puppet show where the children are gathered and they stay for awhile to watch. Erwin then takes him to book stores, a place where household supplies are sold and a tea shop. He takes him everywhere Erwin thinks he’d love to see.

They start to head back when the crowd thickens. Erwin is used to the throng of people around the plaza but he knows Levi doesn’t like crowds. He ushers him back where the carriage is waiting for them so they can head on home.

Erwin only realizes Levi isn’t with him when he asks if there’s anything else he’d like to see before they leave and he doesn’t get an answer. Erwin turns around and doesn’t see him behind him. He looks for him, scanning the crowd as to where he might be. But he can’t find him.

Erwin has two of his guards that always accompany him look for Levi down an opposite road while he looks for him by going back the same way they passed. Erwin checks the side roads and the small alleys, frantically searching for him while keeping himself calm.

He shouldn’t be this worried. But Erwin can’t help but think that something happened. Levi was never a slave to him. But in others’ eyes, he was. It was obvious he was a slave from the robes he wore. And slaves should never be left alone, especially out in public places like the plaza. There were always merchants after them. Merchants who sold them off in the black market. Erwin had let Levi walk around without any sign that he was owned by a master and that made it more dangerous for him because then, no one would claim him.

Erwin rushes down a side alley. He turns in another corner and is about to head on deeper inside one of the smaller alleys when he finally sees him. Levi is standing there, two men by his feet. The men were obviously knocked out, their forms slumped like a rag doll and noses all bloody. Erwin is surprised to see this but it disappears when he sees Levi’s hands are also filled with blood and there’s a cut on the side of his cheek.

Erwin ushers him out of there. He doesn’t check to see if the men are still alive. His only concern is Levi and the cut on his cheek. One of them probably had a knife. He could’ve been taken or killed.

The moment they get inside the carriage, Erwin immediately tends to him. He rips out a part of his garment and has Levi wipe his hands clean. He then checks on his cut and finds it a bit deep.

“I didn’t kill them.” Levi says quietly as Erwin continues to help him.

“That’s not what I’m concerned about.”

Erwin has a dozen things running through his mind. Most of them are questions he’d like Levi to answer but can’t find it in him to ask out loud. What happened back there? How did Levi know to protect himself? Where did he learn how to do that? Why would a slave know these things?

But deep down, Erwin knows this isn’t what’s important. It’s the fact that there’s still a hundred things Erwin doesn’t know about him.

Upon arriving home, Erwin has his servants bring him some medicine to clean Levi’s cut. He also has them bathe Levi. The slave’s protest fall to deaf ears. Erwin patches him up himself in his room when they’re through with him, making sure to check every part of him whether there are any wounds he missed.

“I’m fine,” Levi grumbles as Erwin tilts his chin up and tips his head from side to side.

“It doesn’t hurt to check.”

“Well I’m telling you, I’m fine.”

“I want to be sure.” Erwin says through his teeth.

Levi wrenches away his arm where Erwin has him in a tight hold. Erwin lets him take a step back from him, both of them glaring at each other.

“Why are you so angry?” Levi says.

“Because I can’t figure you out!”

At his outburst, Levi’s eyes widen. Erwin, realizing what he just said, suddenly feels horrible. He sighs and runs a hand over his face. He shouldn’t have said that. He wasn’t supposed to say that out loud.

“You can’t figure me out?” Levi has started to glare at him again. “Is that what all this was?”

Erwin can’t look at him.

“Buying me gifts. Talking to me. Fucking _me_. You wanted me to crack?”

Erwin doesn’t say anything. Levi gives a small laugh, a humorless dry laugh that hurts to hear.

“I have never faked anything for you.” Levi says and that’s when Erwin looks at him. He sees his jaw tightening as he says all this. “To the others, yes. But never for you.”

Levi’s hands are curled into fists by his side as if he’s trying to suppress something. But there’s also resignation in his eyes and Erwin can no longer doubt that what he said wasn’t true.

Levi turns to leave but Erwin reaches for him. Levi doesn’t even get to pull the door open when Erwin wraps his arms around his small form. Like this, they both look like they’ll fall. Levi is too small to be holding Erwin up but neither of them collapse. And maybe that’s what Erwin had been doing the past few months. He’s let Levi in, let him carry all the loneliness Erwin feels. And so far, no one’s falling. Levi is carrying him still even if Levi has his own weight that’s on his shoulders.

Levi doesn’t push him away and Erwin doesn’t let go. He can’t let him leave with things between them like this.

Levi, who had been rigid in his hold, relaxes a little as Erwin holds him tighter. He wants him to stay. He’s letting him know he wants him to stay.

“Never?” Erwin asks, his face buried in the back of Levi’s neck.

“It always came close.” Levi replies quietly as he holds on to Erwin’s arms in front of him. “One more master. I could fake it for one more master. But somehow, for you, I didn’t have to. I tried. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t do it to you.”

Erwin knows that words shouldn’t mean everything. But at this point, he’s tired of trying to figure him out. All he wants is to hold him and not think about anything else.

And he’d like to take a chance. That maybe what Levi said is all true. Maybe he never pretended in the first place. Maybe all those sighs and moans, all the times Erwin kissed him and Levi opened up for him, were never an act of service.

More importantly, he wants to have Levi lean on him too.

Erwin kisses the back of his neck. He can feel Levi shudder at that. He pushes him towards the door until Levi has his palms played on the surface to support their weight.

“I’m sorry,” Erwin murmurs against his skin. “I’m sorry.” He repeats them over and over again, saying them as he presses kisses down his spine until he reaches his lower back.

“Master…” Levi says, voice no longer hard and angry but rather, a soft coaxing tone that has Erwin kneel behind him and lift his robes up and bunch them around his waist.

They’re always rough with each other. But as Erwin spreads Levi’s ass cheeks and buries his face in them, he treats him as gentle as he can. He stretches him gently with his tongue and his finger, noticing every little noise and movement that comes from Levi. He notes what makes his breath hitch, what makes his hips jut back for more. He pleasures him, not because he wants to figure him out, but just because he wants to.

That night, Erwin takes him slow until Levi is gripping at him and squirming impatiently. It’s no longer a tug of war between them and Erwin lets Levi pleasure him back. He comes to the way Levi rolls hips languidly and the way Levi’s teeth sinks in his skin. He comes to the sounds of Levi’s pleas, telling him to go harder, faster. He fucks him with his tongue, his cock, his fingers. He fucks him until Levi is too sensitive, jerking under Erwin’s hold and rests his head on his chest all spent.

For the first time, Levi stays with him that night without Erwin having to ask him to do so.

 

* * *

 

He finds the spot on the bed next to him empty when he wakes up. Erwin finds his clothes neatly hung on the back of his chair like always. There’s dread settling in the pit of his stomach. But there’s also a kind of trust that calms the storm inside Erwin’s heart.

He musters up the strength to get up and change. He wonders where Levi is when he sees him with Mike out in the garden. There’s a pot of tea in between them and cups in their hands. They both look up at Erwin when they see him and Levi takes out an extra cup and offers him one.

Mike has never been one to talk with the others aside from their close niche of friends. But there he is with Levi, talking about what happened to him the other day. Apparently, the two guards who were there with them, reported to Mike what had happened. Mike, fascinated at this story, is asking Levi to teach his men how to fight the same way he did.

Erwin spends that morning watching Levi teaching Mike and his men what he did. Levi looks very comfortable in clothes that aren’t robes. Erwin watches in awe at how light and skilled he is with his hands and feet. He’s impressed at what Levi can do and he reluctantly leaves him with Mike for the day since he had his own work to get started on.

When he comes home that night, he stops by Levi’s room. He sees him all dressed for bed. Levi has his back to him, stretching his arms above his head. Erwin comes up to him from behind and wraps an arm around his waist. Levi settles back in his hold, completely letting Erwin be in control.

It’s Erwin who massages him that night. Levi falls asleep halfway through. Erwin doesn’t hesitate to brush the hair out of his eyes this time as he watches him sleep.

He doesn’t have a list of things he want. But he does want one thing now.

He’d like to take care of Levi for the rest of his life.

* * *

 

Erwin watches as the shopkeeper wraps his purchase. It’s a thin black collar made of leather and the buckle a fine silver. The shopkeeper had given him all sorts of collars before Erwin made his decision. They were all beautiful and elegant looking collars made of fine pieces of jewelry and gold. But Erwin had picked the black one. Black always suited Levi.

The decision to get Levi a collar was something Erwin had been thinking about for some time now. He thought it was the answer to whatever it is that’s sort of hanging between him and Levi. But as he walks out of that shop, the collar stored in a simple white box and wrapped to be given later, Erwin doesn’t think it really is the answer to everything.

He doesn’t give Levi the collar. It ends up at the back of his drawer, safely kept to be given someday.

 

* * *

 

“What do you think of pleasure slaves?”

Erwin asks Hange just as they’re wrapping up work for the day.

“What about them?” Hange asks back.

“You always gifted me with one. But what do you think of them?”

Hange ponders for a moment about this.

“I think that people don’t really understand them.” They start. “Lords and Ladies look at them like a type of luxury item but they’re sort of a companion for when you want someone too. They can be temporary, but I’d like to think that there are lords and ladies who keep their pleasure slaves for life. As friends. Or even as lovers.”

Erwin thinks of Levi and the past few months they’ve been together. Erwin has learned many things from him in those few months. Levi taught him how to want things for himself that doesn’t seem to be so selfish. He taught him how to live that doesn’t feel like he’s just drifting anymore.

“I’d like to set Levi free.” Erwin finally says.

Hange looks at him and then sighs.

“I guess you still don’t like him, huh.”

“No, I do.” Erwin corrects them. “I just don’t want him as my slave anymore.”

Hange waves their hand. “Then just return him when the policy is up. You still have about, what, two more weeks? I really thought you guys would hit it off-”

“Hange,” Erwin interrupts them and looks them in the eyes. “I don’t want him to be _anyone’s_ slave.”

Hange blinks back at him and through their glasses, Erwin can tell they finally understand.

Hange helps him write up a draft that day. They extend the rest of the afternoon in dealing with papers and other forms that needed to be written for Levi’s release. Even after Hange leaves him with a huge smile on their faces as to what this means for him, Erwin still spends the rest of the night working on those documents and making sure there isn’t a single loophole in it.

He finishes late into the night. Levi is curled up on the couch in the parlor when he makes his way up to his room. He has a book carefully marked for when he’ll continue to read it tomorrow on the coffee table and there’s an empty cup of what Erwin knows is tea. Erwin smiles at the sight of him and leans down to kiss him on the cheek. Levi, too deep in sleep, doesn’t even stir. But Erwin doesn’t mind.

Erwin scoops him up in his arms and takes him to bed. Levi had been a wonderful present to him. Now, he can’t wait to give Levi his own gift.

 

* * *

 

The business starts picking up again after a week that Erwin is once again busy dealing with interested clients. He spends most of his time in his parlor, entertaining them or out of town, where he visits the lords and ladies in their estates. He doesn’t bring Levi with him this time nor does he allow his clients to meet the slave.

He arrives home after what seems like a long week. Levi has a bath ready for him when he heads up the stairs and he persuades Levi to join him after he rinses all the dirt and grime from his trip.

They don’t do anything in the tub aside from Levi washing his hair. Erwin misses him so much and it’s obvious with the way he’s hard when Levi straddles him to rinse him off. Levi is too as well but they both keep their hands to themselves, Levi only indulging him with kisses. They’re aware that the tub doesn’t allow much movement with the both of them inside it.

But as soon as they’re dry, Erwin has Levi pressed down on his bed. A week wasn’t a usually long time for Erwin to be away but it felt like it did. He doesn’t drag things any further. He kisses Levi’s neck, lets his hands roam his body until Levi is warm all over from his touches.

Erwin reaches for the oil on his bedside drawer when Levi suddenly pulls away.

“I can’t do this,” He says. Erwin stops to look at him and it’s only then that he notices how antsy he had been. Levi moves so he’s sitting on the back of his heels. Erwin, worried that something had happened while he was away, moves closer to cup his face but Levi wouldn’t let him.

“Levi?”

“Tell me.” Levi says and the way his tone comes off strained tugs at Erwin’s heart, making him confused. “We’ve been together for nearly six months now. In the next few days, my time is up and you’ll have to return me. I want to know if you’ll do.”

The confusion Erwin feels turns into relief.

“If you still want me to be your slave, tell me. So I don’t have to… I can’t expect...”

Levi has his bottom lip in his teeth and Erwin reaches to tip his chin up to look at him.

So much has changed. It’s just been a few months but Erwin thinks a lot has changed and they’re all for the better because of the person in front of him.

“Levi,” Erwin starts. “I don’t want you to be my slave.”

Levi’s face falls and Erwin, realizing what he said wrong, instantly moves closer to cup Levi’s face in both of his hands.

“No, no. Levi, you have it wrong. I don’t want you to be my slave because I’d like to set you free.”

Levi looks at Erwin, confusion spreading through his features. He was supposed to give his gift to him on the day when the return policy is up. He would’ve liked to surprise him. But now is as good a time as any and Erwin releases him just so he can move from the bed to the desk he has on the far side of his room. He takes the documents he carefully kept and hands it to Levi.

“Open it.”

Levi reads the content of the papers, his eyes widening from confusion to disbelief.

“I’ll still pay the remaining amount of money after the return policy is up. The shop will give the shares to you. And you can live them however you want to.” Erwin explains. “Hange has all your papers for when you want to go back or where you can live anywhere you like. They assured me it’ll be enough for you.”

Levi tears his gaze from the papers and finally looks at him.

“Or you can stay here, if you still want to.” Erwin swallows down the nervous lump that had formed in his throat. “Let me still take care of you, Levi. But not as my slave. Let me take care of you as someone who stands by my side. As an equal.”

Levi doesn’t look like he’s breathing. He’s sort of trembling that Erwin opens his arms to pull him in. But Levi has already taken his face in his hands as he pulls Erwin down on the bed with him, kissing him.

“You don’t have to give me an answer now,” Erwin says in between kisses.

“Fuck, this is already an answer.” Levi breathes and Erwin laughs, happy that Levi had indeed loved his gift.

 

* * *

 

Six months have passed and there are some things that have stayed the same. Like Erwin still being busy and having clients that are stubborn about things. He still goes on business trips, still attends every social gathering and is still the same Lord Erwin Smith that everyone knows.

Except that Levi is still with him. Erwin no longer comes home to a house filled with servants at the end of the day. He comes home to Levi who has started working with Mike training recruits. The robes are gone, replaced with a uniform that suits him. He comes home to Levi telling him to bathe before he even eats. Nights after dinner aren’t spent in bed alone catching up on even more paperwork. It’s with Levi by his side, telling him of his day since he knows Erwin is too tired to recount his. Erwin listens to his voice and eventually drifts off, knowing that the next morning, Levi will still be with him.

Levi no longer calls him master but by his name, something Erwin likes hearing especially when he moans it out loud as Erwin pounds into him. He likes that Levi takes care of him and vice versa. It’s still strange to him, to be able to have someone in his life. But it’s a good kind of strange.

People still think Levi is Erwin’s slave even if Erwin tells them he isn’t. They don’t believe him and Erwin has given up on convincing them otherwise. Levi doesn’t look like he minds anyway. Only his friends really believe him and even if they don’t tell him, Erwin can tell they’re happy seeing them together. Hange once said he doesn’t look that much lonely anymore.

Life with Levi is still the same. But he no longer feels like he’s just drifting. He actually feels like he’s living again. The contents on his list isn’t much. But there’s something in it. It involves himself and his friends. And Levi. And that makes living his life more interesting.

They’re getting ready for bed, Erwin already pulling the covers back to get in when Levi climbs into bed with him, carrying a white box.

“I found something while I was cleaning today,” Levi says, opening the box and taking out a thin black strap that Erwin realizes is the collar he forgot to give him. He forgot about it and hadn’t really thought of giving it to Levi when he’s no longer a slave anymore.

“Were you ever going to give it to me?” Levi asks.

“Yes,” Erwin replies. “But then I decided you were better off free than wearing it.”

Levi still doesn’t say much but Erwin has learned how to read him sometimes. Right now, he can tell that Levi is thankful. The way he looks at Erwin sometimes makes him feel guilty. That Levi would think so highly of him and that he doesn’t deserve it. Because he’s just an ordinary man and he’s no one special. But maybe that’s the thing they have in common. That Levi doesn’t think so much of himself either. But the way Erwin looks at him is someone who’s thankful that he sort of saved his life from this misery he hadn’t known he was living.

“Really?” Levi unclasps the buckle on the collar and fastens it around his neck. Erwin’s breath hitches as he sees how lovely and snug it looks on him. The way it rests just below his adam’s apple but tight enough so it doesn’t fall to his collarbone. He was right. Black suits Levi.

“I don’t know.” Levi hums, starting to strip off of his sleeping clothes. “I think I look good in it. What do you think?”

There’s a smirk playing on Levi’s lips. Erwin only hooks his forefinger underneath the collar and tugs Levi towards him.

Erwin doesn’t say anything. He only shows him what he really thinks about it.


End file.
